


The Babysitter

by Blank_Error



Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: Autistic Gary Goodspeed, Avodado, Dadspeed, Garycato Week, M/M, Other, garycato - Freeform, general avocato, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 45
Words: 65,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28063086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blank_Error/pseuds/Blank_Error
Summary: Little Cato is a lonesome boy who doesn't get much time with his father. One day when he finally gets the courage to venture deeper into the space station he meets a man who offers to be his friend.
Relationships: Avocato & Gary Goodspeed, Avocato & Little Cato (Final Space), Avocato/Gary Goodspeed, Gary Goodspeed & Little Cato
Comments: 282
Kudos: 197
Collections: Garycato





	1. Chapter 1

Tera Con Prime. A space station built on the wreckage of a planet by the one and only Lord Commander.

The chatter of many individuals gathered together mixes along with the exotic scents in the streets. There, a lone figure, hides themselves behind a cloak as they stroll down and explore the place.

They creep through the many stalls selling different things from weapons to stolen jewellery to foods...   
The vast collection of things catching the eye of the small figure as they stand there in wonder. They notice the transport pipes that pierced through the entire station and anxiously look around as the sound of marching soldiers drew near to the centre of attention

"For eternity. For Lord Commander" A powerful voice rose from the shadows as they saluted, the crowd of guards following close. 

The anxious little figure turns around, deciding they had enough fun for today...not that they had fun- just that they didn't have the courage to stay out any longer.

Returning home, they hid their cloak under their mattress in their small room and brushed their ginger fur into place. 

Little Cato stared at the old, dirty mirror and sighed. He just didn't have the courage to venture for too long, afraid his father would notice him gone as soon as he stepped out and he didn't want to risk getting a babysitter- especially at his age. 

With huff, he let himself fall onto the bean bag chair, sinking deep into it. He was sick of just staying in all day...no excitement- nothing to entertain him except his lonely training.   
Heck, he was so lonely that he even started to train to fight himself someday. 

Leaving his little cave was no biggie, the problem was being seen and then reported to his father. He had gotten out many times before but as hard as it was to admit- it was never fun.   
The boy was always far too worried about the "what if"s to ever truly enjoy himself. 

"UuuUUugh" Little Cato groaned, imitating a tantrum just to relieve his boredom.  
On a bright side, he got further than usual.   
Usually, the boy would take a few steps outside before cowering straight back home. Today he managed to get into the main street, rather than the creepy ones that hid too close to his home on alley ways that he took to avoid being seen.   
Maybe this wasn't about his father, maybe this was about his fear of the unknown.   
Nah...it's mostly about his father.

Little Cato was eager for adventure, for the thrill. Although he was very talented in fixing certain machines and was confident in his fighting skills- he would never get to put those things to the test because of how overprotective his father is. 

Overprotective...  
Maybe that isn't the correct word. 

His father simply doesn't have time for him so maybe he doesn't want him out causing more trouble that he already does at home...  
Yeah..that's more like it.

Little Cato felt his eyelids get heavy as the power of boredom forced him upon a nap. Curling into himself, he hugged his knees and let the bean bag consume him.   
He had a bed, ofcourse. He could just get up and lay down on it but he prefers the bean bag because it sticks closer. Its not just laying down...it feels like...the bean bag is hugging you to sleep. Yeah...   
He is being hugged to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Little Cato woke up on his bed. His father must have moved him while he was asleep.  
The boy looked around the house, checking if his father was still around to find, to his disappointment, that his father was long gone.

"Great.." he sighed as he grabbed a box of cereal and made his breakfast.  
As if the lack of a father figure wasn't enough to bring his spirits down, Little Cato remembered that today he had school.

School wasn't that great. Little Cato may be the son of the second in command, General Avocato, but that didn't help him make friends. Rather than help, it pushed people away.  
Everyone was always too afraid or too jealous to try befriend him. They'd cower everytime he walked past them and treated him nicely only in fear that Little Cato would tell on them. Sure, Little Cato would love to use his father in a "my dad is better than yours" battle, but at this rate he wasn't sure if his dad was really the best. 

He was sick of the same lonely routine. Sick of studying how to pledge your life to the Lord Commander. Sick of other kids pushing him around and talking behind his back, too afraid to face him.

It was like life was giving him everything but what he wanted.

While Little Cato was busy studying and dealing with unwanted attention, General Avocato was busy with his own share of work.  
Usually, he was required to leave the planet to order Lord Commander's army or even destroy planets but recently he was forced to do more paperwork. Luckily, this meant he didn't have to leave the planet as often, leaving him to go back home to see his son more often.

Currently, Avocato stood next to the Lord Commander who sat at the end of a long table, making deals and alliances with other home planets, every so often turning to Avocato for a second opinion before he made his final decision. 

Avocato wasn't the type to sit still and wait for others to act but after he became a general he had no other choice but to sit back and let others do the work as he simply guided them. So, now that he is doing the definition of nothing but standing, he feels somewhat annoyed that he is wasting his precious time as he merely is here to over hear conversations he has no need for. 

There were no wars going on at the moment, this gave Avocato a bit hope that he would finally get some off time to spend with his son. He had broken enough promises to his dear son and this time he wanted to make one he could keep.  
He wanted to go home and tell him "today we are going to a shooting range together" and actually be able to go plinking with his son. 

"Isn't that right Avocato" the sinister voice of Lord Commander knocks the man out of his thought train but even so his expression does not waver. I guess you could say that he practiced enough at pretending to be listening.

"Yes sir" Avocato simply nodded, his stance still as rigid as ever.

\-------------------------------------------

Somewhere else

"Are you sure that this is the right guy?" 

"Yes...that's definitely John Goodspeed's son" 

"Magnificent...I want him here alive, I will provide the rest" 

"Yes sir"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized most chapters are so short >~< sorryyyy


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato makes a friend

Today was just horrible. Little Cato was at his patience's limit. If there was a time that life was testing him, it was now.

A group of thugs caught him on the way back home and beat him up good. He could have taken them...if they weren't in a group.

"Gotta practice fighting when I'm outnumbered" Little Cato mumbled to himself but he knew it was a hard thing to do, especially when he is alone most of the time.

Enough. 

The boy just got beat up and he doesn't want to go back to an empty home, not after a horrible day like this. 

Little Cato turned to a random road, avoiding his usual path home. He opened his backpack and pulled out his usual cloak, throwing it over him and covering his head with the hood. 

As he walked he could see the same markets from last time, meaning he was still close to home- not good enough. He wanted to go further, he needed to go further.  
All the other kids with their stupid perfect families and perfect lives, going out to play with their perfect friends. Little Cato didn't need that, he didn't need perfect friends and sure as hell didn't need a perfect family. 

"Hey watch it kid" a gruff voice called as Little Cato bumped into metal. When he looked up he felt his heart fall.  
You know the feeling you get that just gives off the "I am in deep trouble and now Im going to die because I am in so much trouble"? That feeling.

He bumped into a guard.

The guard eyed him up and down, a suspicious glance as he slowly reached for the boy's hood.

"No, I can't get caught now...Not when I've come this far!" Little Cato thought and in his pure panic he started running

"Hey kid! Wait up!" The guard called, getting the attention of a few other guards 

"What did he do?" One of them asked as they ran after the boy

"Don't know but if he is running then surely he did something!" The other replied picking up the speed

Little Cato wasn't going to risk it. If he is getting caught he better be on the other side of the planet by then.  
With a swift jump, he managed to reach the roof of a market, taking the chance to jump to another and climbing to a top of an apartment. 

He kept running on top of the roofs. Looking back, he laughed from the adrenaline as he noticed the guards far away. 

"Holy crap- " he breathed before slipping on a tile and falling on a huge bin. 

"Quickly get him!" He heard as he tried to stand up. It smelled like crap in here and he was bound to get caught which was also crap. His day in general was crap.

"Come on!" A hand pulled him out, placing his hood back on and grabbing his hand. Little Cato couldn't see much with the hood now in front of his eyes, all he knew is that someone was dragging him around.

He could feel his legs grow tired from running and from the many turns he took. He bumped into a few people hearing many "sorry"s and "excuse me"s from the man leading him.  
Soon after they stopped on a quieter place, the many shouts were now mumbles as the guards finally lost tail of him. 

Little Cato took this chance to take off his hood and look at the stranger that helped him run from the guards.  
In front of him, stood a tired man who wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket. The man had undercut blonde hair and his eyes seemed to be a clear blue, a colour the teenager liked a lot. The stranger seemed to wear some blue jeans a red shirt and a brown leather jacket.  
Little Cato recalled his species as Human.

"Whew" The man breathed with a chuckle "now that was a workout, right kiddo?" He said, turning to Little Cato.

Little Cato shook his head, trying to knock himself back to his senses  
"Why did you help me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow 

"I like to think kids are innocent" the man replied placing his hands on his hips "whatever you did to get chased was probably not that of a big of a deal" he laughed "it wasn't that big of a deal right?" He asked suddenly nervous about his decision 

"It wasn't that big of a deal" Little Cato reassured with a smile "They were just...worried that I was a kid alone in the street?" Little Cato lied through his teeth, hoping this man was dumb enough to buy it

"Thats fair" he replied now crossing his arms "it is dangerous for children to hang around these areas" he smiled "by the way, are you alright?" He asked, worry in his voice

"What?" Little Cato replied confused 

"You got a little...." the stranger gave a pained look as he pointed towards his own face indicating Little Cato had something in his.  
Placing his hand on his cheek, Little Cato flinched at the sudden pain. Right, he got beat up a few seconds ago...

"Tell you what kid, follow me and I'll get you some cream for those nasties" the man offered. The boy must have given a suspicious glare as the man suddenly tried to reason with him "There are guards everywhere and I don't want to do anything to you! Trust me! Plus, it looks like you don't know the area too well so it will be dangerous" 

"Then tell me who you are" Little Cato squinted his eyes in suspicion

"The name is Gary! Gary Goodspeed" The man, Gary, gave his hand out for the boy to shake, Little Cato only noticed now that his hand was made of metal. Waiting patiently as Little Cato tried to make up his mind whenever or not to trust him.   
Perhaps it was the lack of friends or socialising that made Little Cato be so suspicious, but Gary didn't seem to know who he was, so he took this chance to start a new.  
Shaking his hand Little Cato felt himself smile

"Alright Gary, I'll go"

"Awesome!" Gary cheered, turning on the heel of his boot to walk down the alley towards the noise, Little Cato assumed that's where the main street was.

"What about you kiddo?" Gary asked suddenly "what's your name?" He smiled down at the boy

"My name is..." Little Cato paused, not sure if it was a good idea to tell him his real name

"I get it kid...stranger danger" Gary smiled slowing down to match the boy's steps "You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable with me yet" 

As they stepped into the light of the street Little Cato noticed he was no where near his house, as he had no idea where he was. 

"Woah.." he breathed as he looked up and down at the different things.

"This is the tools area" Gary explained "all the fancy Doctor things should be down there" Gary poited at some stairs "now stick close little buddy" 

Walking towards some stairs was never as amazing as this. Everywhere there were awesome looking weapons and black smiths, Little Cato just couldn't help but keep his mouth open in awe as he imagined what it would be like to own at least one of those cool swords that hanged on one of the walls.

"I feel ya kid" Gary laughed, closing his mouth for him "we're here" Gary announced as he came to a stop. Taking his brown leather wallet, that matched his jacket, out Gary bought a few pills that Little Cato didn't know what it was for and the cream he was promised

"Here ya go Spidercat" Gary gave him the paper bag and placed his pills in the pocket of his jacket.

"Spidercat?" Little Cato looked up at the man

"Well...since I don't really know your name I thought I'd come up with one for you. I saw you climb those walls with the same skill as a spider- you were all like WHOOSH and Wohoo" Gary moved his hands to the noises he made, trying to explain to the boy earning a laugh from him.

"Sounds cool, I like it!" Little Cato admitted as he and Gary sat down on a bench. 

"Here let me help" Gary offered and opened the box, proceeding to put the cream on the boy's face.  
Little Cato felt somewhat nervous, he was never this close to another person other than his father. It felt nice to be touched

"Tell me if you're uncomfortable" Gary said softly as he continued placing the cream on his face.  
Little Cato closed his eyes, enjoying the touch from another living being. He heard a chuckle and opened his eyes to see Gary with an amused face, now patting his head  
"I'm already done Spidercat"

"O-oh...yeah..thanks" Little Cato backed a bit, embarrassed by his own actions.  
Gary had this kind aura around him, a warm type of feel that just made the boy comfortable. He was like the sun at dawn, warm and gentle. 

"So...how did you get so beat up kid?" Gary asked, placing his arms on the back of the bench

"Ugh..just some thugs wannabe" Little Cato rolled his eyes earning a laugh from Gary 

"They bother you too much? Gosh I hope not" Gary said "Picking on others is never a good thing" 

"Yeah..they don't have much of a life- but no, this was the first time this had happened" Little Cato told Gary, recalling how uncool he must have looked as he looked down at the floor. Little Cato started to wonder how his dad would react to seeing him like that.

"You hungry kid?" Gary suddenly asked noticing Little Cato's ears pep up "They have some street meat right over there" he pointed towards his right where lots of smoke was emitting. 

"You sure? I don't want to use your money.." Little Cato said shyly

"It's all good spidercat" Gary stood and ruffled the boy's hair "take it as a friendship gift" 

"Friendship gift?" Little Cato repeated "W-We're friends?" He asked, too afraid to be stupid and assume they were

"Duh! That is...if you wanna be" Gary scratched the back of his neck

Little Cato stared at the man he just met a few minutes ago wide eyed. He had helped him run from the guards, offered to help with his bruises and listened to him and now...they're friends.

"Is that alright?"

This was a question that caught Gary by suprise but he didn't let it shake him. The boy he just met was acting like he needed someone there for him and if he happened to be that person, then he sure as hell didn't want to let the kid down

"Of course!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato finally hangs outside his house with his new friend, Gary

Ever since the day Little Cato met Gary, he has been leaving the house more often, now not so afraid of wondering too far. He has a basic understanding of the map of the space station, at least on the level he is- he hasn't really seen what it's like down on the area his dad works or way up some stories.   
Every time Little Cato went out, whenever it was after school or during none school days he would look for Gary near the street food stalls, sometimes he wouldn't find him which is why Gary decided to tell him where he worked.

Little Cato jumped from roof to roof until he saw Gary's shop from afar, the boy was out of breath with excitement as he was planning to spend another day with his only friend. Sure, it did occur to the boy that maybe he was annoying the guy but Gary would always say that he enjoyed the company. Gary was a mechanic, something Little Cato found out after asking about his robotic arm.   
As Little Cato stepped down to the front of his friend's shop he gazed up. There, was his apartment, on top of the shop he worked at. The boy never really went in but he did catch a glimpse once after Gary had forgotten his wallet in his room. 

Little Cato opened the door to hear the familiar bell. Gary who was under a spaceship, rolled out with a   
"Welcome- Oh! Spidercat!!"   
The man immediately stood up to greet the boy, Little Cato knew he made this shop his second home. He cleaned his black stained hands with a dirty rag and engulfed the boy into a bear hug, spinning before setting him down.  
"Hey Gary" Little Cato laughed as he sat down next to Gary's work "watcha working on?" the boy asked his curiously   
"Fixing the engines of this bad boy" Gary slapped the small ship before sitting down next to him "I'm almost done, there's some cookies over there if you want" he pointed to a table as he got back to work

"don't mind if I do" Little Cato grinned and started munching on the cookies sitting on top of the table, swinging his legs and watching his friend work.

"say...Spidercat." Gary called from under the ship

"hm?" Little Cato hummed with a mouth full of cookies. Spidercat was a name he had gotten so used to that he barely started responding to Little Cato at school

"I was thinking you and I hang out a bit today? What do you say?" Gary asked rolling out to look at the boy.

Little Cato thought about it, he did want to hang out with Gary and his dad did usually arrive late...so it should be fine, right?

"Yeah, let's go man!" Little Cato swallowed the cookie and jumped off the table towards him

"Y-you sure?" Gary sat up "Don't need to ask permission from your parents or anything?" Gary questioned worriedly 

Little Cato's ears folded at the mention of parents but he quickly hid it with a smile "It's all good Gary" Little Cato lied

"You super duper sure?" Gary asked again now standing up to face the boy "Don't want to worry your parents... You know with all hanging out with someone they don't even know" 

Little Cato didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to having to tell his father where he was going or what he was doing since he didn't it was necessary. Worry his dad? Little Cato thought all he would be doing is trouble him by taking his time.  
"Well where are we going?" Little Cato asked, trying to seem that he has limited options due to 'parents'. Gary seemed to brighten up at the question

"I was planning on taking you to this place I like to go to cool off! Usually I go at night time but I think we should go a bit earlier than that so we don't worry you parents" Gary grinned as he walked to the sink washing his hands

"My parents allow me out as long as its not too far" Little Cato smiled, he felt bad for lying to Gary but he really wanted to go to this place that he seemed to love so much "I could use cooling off" Little Cato added folding his hands behind his back and standing on his tip toes

"Well...if you say so" Gary dried his hands on his pants "Let me just close off the shop" 

"Can I help?" The boy chirped, grabbing a broom

"Naah" Gary said turning off the lights "because I'm leaving it like this- Let's go!" 

As Gary locked the doors to the shop he turned to look at the boy who was already jumping on the spot asking questions such as "where are we going?", Gary couldn't help but smile. 

"You ready Spidercat?" Gary called 

"Heck yeah!" The boy bounced 

"Grab hold, its quite crowded there around this time" Gary held out his hand. Little Cato looked at his hand, the same hand that he shook and helped him and without hesitation held it. Gary gave it a gentle squeeze as he started walking.

It was late afternoon so lights were lightning up the streets. From purple shimmers to bright yellows, the lights blinked and flashed to catch the attention of customers 

"Woah... I've never been out this late before by myself" Little Cato said mainly to himself

"But you're not by yourself, Spidercat" Gary grinned "You sure your parents alright with you hanging out with me?" Gary asked

Little Cato looked up at him with a "this again" look for, what must have been the, 100th time. Gary always asks him this, always making sure if his parents are really OK with him. Honestly, Little Cato would be suprised if his father even cared as much as to wonder that.

"OK ok, won't ask again" Gary laughed at the boy's funny face.

Little Cato tensed as he walked past the guards. He no longer wore his usual cloak to hide himself since he felt safe enough near Gary, but he would sometimes worry that maybe the guards knew he wasn't supposed to be out and about.  
The boy felt another gentle squeezed and looked up to see Gary smiling kindly at him. Feeling his shoulders relax, Little Cato thought that he didn't care if they found out, no one would ruin the fun when he is with Gary.

While the two were enjoying themselves, someone happened to arrive from work earlier than usual.

"Little Cato?" 

Only to find out that their son is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop- someone arrived earlier than expected~


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato and Gary have some fun at the disco!  
> Would be a shame if someone were to ruin that fun~

It had been a busy week, Avocato managed to go home only once during it which was more than usual. Luckily, Lord Commander granted him a few days off as there was no more work to be done, resulting in Avocato returning home earlier than usual.

It was noon, the sun had yet to set and Avocato was glad he would finally be able to see his son while he was awake

"Little Cato?" He called for the boy as he walked in only to be greeted by the silence of an empty house

"Little Cato?" He called again, this time climbing the stairs and checking in his boy's room. 

Empty.

Avocato's mind started to slightly panic, he was sure he told Little Cato he wasn't allowed out and he knew he didn't have school today. 

"Where is he?" Avocato growled frustrated with himself as he turned the house upside down, hoping that this was a simple game of hide and seek.  
Once he was sure that Little Cato was certainly not home, he sent a message to the guards surrounding his area in hopes for any information. 

"Come on..." he paced around the room, anxious for a reply

Ping

Avocato jumped and immidietly clicked on the message   
"Spotted a young Ventraxian with a adult Human male near the hangout area"   
Hangout area... a nickname given by locals to describe the area near the arcades and bars. 

"Don't lose sight of them, I'll be there in a minute" Avocato ordered and immidietly ran out. Whoever this human was, he was going to pay for ever laying hands on his son.

\--------------------------------------------------------

"Ta-dah!!" Gary cheered as he gestured to a Disco

"What is this place?" Little Cato asked, looking around curiously as they walked in. 

"It's a disco! You know, where people dance" Gary grinned. 

Surely enough, Little Cato saw many different species dancing with one another on a tiled floor that lit up from pinks to purples. Sniffing, Little Cato noticed the scent of sweat and drinks, though there wasn't a lot of alcohol.

"Since it's still noon, no one is getting drunk yet so it should be fine" Gary said as he sat down on one of the tables near the dance floor, Little Cato following after "So, what do you want to drink?" 

Little Cato took the menu from Gary's hand, looking at the various pictures of the fancy looking drinks before choosing a blue coloured one. Gary nodded ordering their drinks as they sat down and watched the others dance.

"So...you come here when you want to cool off?" The boy looked up at the man

"Or when I need to let some bottled up energy out. Let loose, you know?" Gary shook his shoulders and the boy laughed.

Soon enough, the drinks they ordered was served. Little Cato's drink was named "Blue Shoe" and Gary's seemed to be a cranberry and mint.   
Gary swore he saw stars on the kid's eyes as he took a sip from his straw to try his drink 

"It has a weird aftertaste" Little Cato laughed

"Wanna try mine?" Gary offered pushing the glass towards the boy who nodded 

"Oooooh I like this one too!" The boy cheered after a sip of the man' drink. 

Gary thought to himself whenever he should ask this or not, but it was bugging him for a while

"Say, Spidercat.. You never used to go out much before we met, did you?" Gary said, trying to seem casual instead of worried.  
Little Cato looked down at his drink before he shook his head

"No...I didn't have many friends before you...or rather, I didn't have any friends..." he laughed embarrassed, nervous that maybe Gary would think he is uncool

"Then that makes us the 'No friends before we met each other and became friends' group, huh" Gary laughed, taking a swing of his drink.

"You don't have any friends other than me?" Little Cato asked, he was honestly suprised- he thought Gary was a really cool guy to hang out with, sure...sometimes he was a bit childish for his age but Little Cato liked that he wasn't afraid to be who he was.

"Nope" Gary responded, pressing on the P "so that makes you a V.I.F, Spidercat" Gary winked "V.I.F stands for Very Important Friend" he laughed before finishing his drink, eating the mint leaves as well. 

Little Cato felt a bit better, his tail would swing happily as he drank the rest of his drink.   
Gary wanted to ask more about the boy but he knew that whenever he mentioned the word "parents" the boy's ears would fold, something Gary learned that he disliked. Luckily, Gary was knocked out of his thought train when one of his favourite songs, from Earth, started playing

"Come on, Spidercat!" Gary stood up, suddenly feeling energised "Let's dance!" He pulled the boy up into the dance floor with him

"B-but Gary, I don't know how to dance!" Little Cato exclaimed, his tail curling anxiously as he noticed he was in the centre of the dance floor

"You don't have to know how to dance, Cat boy! You just have to move to the beat!" Gary grabbed the boy's hands and stepped side to side on beat "Follow my lead!"   
Shyly, Little Cato moved his feet trying his best to catch up to the human. 

"Yeah! Just like that!" Gary supported him and Little Cato felt his feet moving more confidently. Gary then pulled his hands one at the time making his shoulders shake as well. They both laughed as they came up with new random moves, Gary making the most funny ones just to make the boy laugh. 

Just as Gary grabbed the boy's arm to spin him again, there was a BAM from slamming the disco's doors, making the music stop abruptly.  
There was a bit of chatter before it went quiet as a figure stomped their way into the disco, creating a whole new kind of tension. A tall, teal Ventraxian dressed in uniform and a very angry expression glared at the human who was holding the small Ventraxian's arm. 

Little Cato felt himself shrink as the figure stepped closer, slowly.   
"Gary, you have to go..." The boy managed to squeak  
Taking notice of this, Gary pulled the boy along and started running towards the back door, starting a chase. Gary pushed some big speakers to at least slow down the Ventraxian running after them but despite the long uniform the other wore, he jumped over the obstacles with ease.  
Turning around to check on Little Cato, Gary noticed the face of guy chasing them- they looked furious....but handsome.  
"Definitely handsome" Gary nodded to himself   
"Focus!" Little Cato whispered yelled to Gary in panic, he usually wouldn't run from his father. That was a big no no- but Little Cato trusted Gary so much that he just let him take him along.

Something Little Cato noticed from their very first meeting is that Gary knows the station. He took little shortcuts and climbed on stairs from buildings that led to rooftops to run quickly on the roof tops, cutting the way in.   
Despite this, Little Cato also knew that his father was the General and that there was no way they could outrun him as he also knew the station well. 

"This way!" Gary shouted as he magically avoided the pounce the boy's father suddenly gave. Running, towards what looked like to be a dead end, Gary turned to a small passage that was too small for the boy's father to fit through

"Nice thinking!" Little Cato said "but its a dead end" he added as he noticed his father clawing at the entrance 

"Or is it?" Gary added as he used the wall behind him to walk up the wall, then entering through a window. Little Cato watched his head pop out the window "Come on!" He whispered "I am actually super bad at playing tag!" 

Little Cato followed Gary's steps and entered through the window, now noticing they were standing in a bathroom.

"Don't worry, we're in my apartment" Gary grinned as he walked out the bathroom.   
The place was small, there was a small TV in front of an old looking bed and the kitchen had a table being used as a divider to the living room. 

"Ignore the mess, didn't think I'd have people over" Gary said embarrassed as he picked up some underwear that was next to his bed.

"It's all good, I don't really tidy up my own room" Little Cato laughed.

Gary sat on his springy, torn bed after putting his underwear on the dirty clothes pile. He waited patiently until Little Cato was comfortable to start talking

"So...you probably wanna know what that was back there" 

"Not if you're uncomfortable telling me" Gary said, his gaze was serious but comforting, something Little Cato liked about him. Gary never thought on forcing him to tell him things he did not want to tell, he respected the boy's boundaries.

"Little Cato..." he mumbled "My name is Little Cato" 

Gary stared at the boy who stood there nervously before smiling at him

"Nice to meet you Little Cato"


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeplver?  
> Sleepover

The sun was setting, the streets started to get dark and Gary knew he couldn't send the kid away- Not with that cat out there hunting him down. The human gazed upon the boy who was eating dinner on his crappy wooden table, the boy's expression spelled out worry as he munched sadly on his food.

"Spid-" Gary cut himself off "Little Cato" he corrected himself. Little Cato had trusted him with his name finally and Gary wanted to respect that "what do you say...you stay over tonight?" he offered 

Little Cato stared at the man who was clearly worried about the early events. He thought about it as he stared down at his food.

"We can try contact your parents, let them know you're staying over at a friend's house for the night- you know like a sleepover" Gary smiled trying to ease the boy's nerves, he assumed Little Cato was afraid 

"No need" Little Cato shook his head "My ...parents...let me do whatever" he finally looked up "if it's okay, I'd like to stay for tonight" 

With a shy smile, Little Cato waited for the man's reply who never once stopped looking at him with those kind eyes. He was afraid. Afraid that Gary would find out who his father was and not wish to spend anymore time with him, afraid that after being chased by his father Gary wouldn't want to be involved with him, afraid that Gary would find out he was lying just to keep his only friend.

"Little Cato" Gary started with a stern voice "Won't your parents be worried? Are you sure you are allowed to do that?" 

Little Cato thought about it. He wasn't even allowed out but now that his father knew he disobeyed him- he was too scared to go back home.

"It will be better this way" Little Cato answered truthfully this time, his voice cracking as his head hang low. 

Gary knew the boy had troubles, he just didn't know what they were. With a sigh he stood up to ruffle the boy's hair, giving him a wide smile   
"What do you say we get this sleepover started huh?" 

————- 

"Where are they?" Avocato growled to himself as he looked around the crowded streets. The smell of alcohol and booze washing off the scent of his only son.   
Avocato's mind started to think of the worst possibilities that the human was going to use his son for. Maybe he was gonna sell him, use him, abuse him or even...kill him.   
"No-" He shook his head at the thought, whatever that human wants with him is certainly not to kill him- otherwise he would've already done so.

Avocato pressed on his wrist device pulling up the message board   
"Search for the location of the following man.   
Race: Human  
Skin: White  
Hair: Blond  
Eye: Blue  
Last appearance: Happy Feet Disco/Night club   
Any other details: Last seen wearing brown leather jacket, a red shirt and jeans. He appears to have a prosthetic hand. "

Avocato learned long ago to identify enemy's details straight away, so with a single glance he memorized the human's features quite well. Now it was only a matter of waiting...

—————————

"Thunder Bandit coming at you from the east side, over" 

"This is Spidercat, I don't see you, over" 

The two played with some walkie talkies Gary had found in his apartment, occasionally giggling at themselves as they pretended to be spies on a very important mission.   
Gary, unskillfully rolled out of his hiding spot, then proceeded to worm his way out to another making the boy break into a fit of laughter  
"What the hell—" Little Cato laughed "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" He finally managed to say through his laughter as he pointed at Gary

"I do not know what you speak of, Over" Gary played it off cool, pretending that nothing had happened 

"Thunder Bandit, it's over, Over" Little Cato grabbed a broken hair dryer and pointed towards Gary's location, closing one eye and putting his tongue out as he aimed

"What do you mean it's over over? Over" Gary asked in between snickers 

Gary heard Little Cato reply through the talkie but he didn't quite understand as the boy spoke between his laughter

"I'm sorry what was that? Over" 

"I said- You'll know what is over over when it's over, over" Little Cato giggled and Gary held his laughter back

"Are you saying that I'll know whats over over when it's over over? Over" Gary and Little Cato laughed.  
They were at the point of staying awake late where everything was just too funny. 

"OK let's get this over with" Little Cato snickered at his own line as he pretended to shoot Gary with a little "pew pew".   
Gary, who was already dying from the laughter, decided to play the part of being shot. Acting as if he was wounded , he fell to his knees

"It's...over between us" He collapsed.

The room was quiet as Little Cato stared at Gary's dumb fake death.   
Both of them then started giggling, before breaking into another fit of laughter.   
Little Cato was sure at this point that he never had so much fun before sleeping ever. 

Once they got tired of laughing, Little Cato let a yawn escape, catching Gary's attention.   
"Oh right! Kids sleep early!" Gary looked at his old watch 

"I am not a kid and I don't sleep early either" Little Cato crossed his arms

"Well you should! It's awesome when you get to sleep a lot" Gary laughed to himself as he grabbed the boy

"H-Hey!" Little Cato squirmed with a giggle as he was thrown onto Gaary's bed.

Gary grabbed his blanket and covered the boy, then rolled the cover- trapping him in a burrito blanket  
"It's sleep time!"

"No!" Little Cato laughed, he squirmed some more, breaking free. Although the boy was free, he just layed there, too tired to get up. 

"Goodnight Little Cato" Gary sat at the side of the bed as he patted the boy who's eyes were too heavy to stay open.

Once Gary heard Little Cato's little snores, he stood up and threw an extra pillow on the floor next to his bed. He was worried about the boy, worried that his parents wouldn't approve of a low life like him and worried that whoever that cat man was- was still out there to get him.  
Gary took a pill, swallowing it with water as he gazed out the bathroom window, remembering the events of today.   
Sitting on the floor, ready to lay down, Gary took another glance at the boy. 

Little Cato snuggled into the blanket like a body pillow and his ears twitched from time to time. It was adorable. 

Gary layed down on the cold, hard floor. Usually his worry would keep him awake but he and Little Cato played so much that he felt like a child again, falling asleep after playtime.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn't it suck if a handsome cat man were to break in your house?

CRASH

The sound of broken glass.  
His mom had thrown another bottle towards the wall as she gripped his father's uniform tight.   
Her face was stained with mascara and tears but her eyes remained as cold as ever once she say the boy. 

Slamming the door on the boy's face, she went back to mourning her ex-husband's death.

"Mom?" He called for her as he heard more crashing within his father's old room.  
He waited.  
After all he had nothing else to do.

His father was gone, all that was left was his mother.

As night drew closer, the boy finally heard the door open, reavealing his swaying mother- showing an expression other than her usual cold stare

"I wish you were never born" 

Hate

SLAM

Gary woke up with a start. His back and neck hurting from sleeping on the floor, his gaze still blurry from just waking up.

Stomp

Stomp

Stomp

Gary froze. He heard heavy footsteps stop in front of his door. He hadn't yet opened the shop yet there was someone here.

Oh no...did he have to pay rent? ALREADY?!

Knock knock knock 

Gary thought about pretending to sleep. He took a glance at his bed, seeing Little Cato stirring in his sleep. 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK 

This time Little Cato woke up, mumbling a "what's going on" with his eyes still closed.

Gary waited, staring at the door.

There was silence and Gary felt himself sigh in relief, laying back down before

SLAM!

Little Cato's hair stood up as he jumped high in the air from the sudden sound. Gary sat up, seeing the door open and a a shadow zooming straight for him.

"Ugh-" Gary grunted as he felt a weigh on his throat, his head slamming back onto the pillow.  
Above him, was the Ventraxian from last night, strangling him in his own home. Gary tried to grab his hand, feeling his lungs about to burst

"Don't. Move." The Ventraxian ordered letting go of Gary's beck to flex his hand revaling sharp claws inches away from the man's neck.  
Gary obeyed, throwing his hands beside his head as he felt some blood tickle down. His body shivered from the sudden shock- for someone who didn't want to be alive a few months ago he sure was afraid of dying.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now" The cat man's grip tighten slightly, piercing through the first layer of skin in Gary's neck.  
Gary flinched at the sudden pain, he wanted to move- to push him off but he knew he would die if he tried.

"STOP!" A voice screamed.  
Little Cato was shivering on the other side of the room as he stared at his father about to kill his first friend   
"Don't do it dad" Little Cato's voice cracked 

Both men stared at the boy, the Ventraxian'd grip loose around the humans neck

"Wait- Dad?" Gary repated in disbelief 

"You have a problem with that, primey?" Little Cato's dad turned back to the human 

"Woah- Little Cato why didn't you tell me?" Gary simply pushed the Ventraxian's hand away and sat up, now ignoring his existence 

"I...I-" Little Cato stammered, afraid that all his fears were now coming true. His father found out he disobeyed and Gary found out he lied 

"Omg- is that my favourite mug laying broken on the ground?" Gary pointed, changing the subject to ease the boy's nerves

"Gary I-" Little Cato tried to explain himself, his ears hanging low with guilt

"What is going on" the general finally spoke, standing up with the human 

"Take a seat, I'll make us tea" Gary ruffled the boy's hair as he walked past him, reassuring he wasnt mad but Little Cato wasn't worried about Gary being angry anymore- he was worried about his father- how disappointed he must be.  
Even so, Little Cato did as told and sat down on one of the two chairs. Avocato who watched his son follow the wishes of the human and leaned againt the wall watching his every movement 

"Milk?" Gary asked the cat man who only glared at him in return.   
With a sigh, Gary set the tea in front of both of them and took a seat on the other chair.

"Whenever you're ready Little Cato" Gary smiled at the boy, the same smile he's been giving him all this time. 

With a deep breath Little Cato explained his whole story, occasionally glancing at his father.   
He talked about who he was and who his dad is and how that affected his life. He mentioned the day he met Gary and talked about those weeks he spend with him with a sad smile.   
Little Cato also apologised. Apologised to Gary for lying as he was too afraid of losing his first friend and apologised to his father for disobeying and causing more trouble.

Now, the boy's head remained low as he stared at the glass in his hand. He noticed Gary had only 1 mug and he managed to break it when he jumped in fear. 

"Little Cato." Gary spoke, his voice stern "What you did was not right" 

The boy lowered his head further as tears threatened to fall. He felt horrible.  
Avocato stood straight now, ready to punch the human for making his boy more sad after he apologised.

"Now I can understand your father's scary face. He was worried Little Cato...worried about you" Gary spoke softly now. The mention of Avocato made him stop to listen, it was true- he was worried.  
"If I were to see a stranger run off with my only son, I'd go nuts as well" Gary continued, standing up and kneeling besides the boy. He took a minute to clean the boy's tears before continuing   
"I understand why you did what you did but even so I would've been much happier if you told me the truth. Friends are honest with each other, Little Cato...and even if you think they may come to dislike you- they deserve to know the truth, because they're your friends" Gary explained.

Little Cato gave a small nod as he rubbed his eye  
"I'm sorry Gary..." Little Cato looked at the man who despite it all remained with the same kind eyes "I'm sorry dad" Little Cato turned to look at his father who was standing next to him now as well.

"I'm sorry too" his father spoke "I was so worried something might have happened to you that I cut your freedom without even knowing" he rest a hand on the boy's shoulder "I should've payed more attention...I should've been a better father" Avocato frowned as he pulled his son in for a hug. Little Cato was taken by suprise but immediately hugged back. Finally, he was being hugged by his father.

"Oh my wow- That's...That's so beautiful" Gary sniffed as he wiped a tear from his eye gaining a weird look from Avocato and a giggle from Little Cato.   
Once Avocato let go of his son, Little Cato started wondering whenever he would ever see Gary again  
"Hey, dad?" Little Cato looked up at him "Will I...and I know I don't have the right to ask this after all the trouble I caused but- Will I be able to hang out with Gary again?" He asked 

Avocato looked at the man who seemed to be touched at his boy's request.   
"He doesn't really look dangerous" Avocato smiled down at the boy. Little Cato's smile widen as he turned around to grin at his friend who shared the same wide grin with him and highfived him.

"However." Avocato added "Next few days I don't have work and I'd like to spend it with my son" 

"Wait- for real?" Little Cato looked back 

"For real real" Avocato grinned at his boy's disbelief.   
Suddenly, Little Cato jumped on his father climbing around him to sit on his shoulders as he asked all his questions

"What are we gling to do? Where are we going?" Ect

Gary laughed at the boy's reaction, genuinely happy that the boy was happy  
"Whenever you wanna hang again, you know where to find me, Spidercat" Gary winked. Referring to the boy as Spidercat mainly because he was reminded of it as he saw the boy climb his father

They said their share of goodbyes and Avocato even apologised for making a fuss and trying to kill him.   
Sighing contently, Gary closed the door and walked towards the bathroom. He stared at the mirror, examining the small dots of blood on his neck and washed it off, placing kid's bandaid on the worst parts.

Once Gary left the bathroom he examined the place. Noticing his broken mug from back on Earth he frowned and started picking up the pieces. The mug was green and had a cookie pocket which Gary thought was very cute at the time and now the cute little pocket was in thousand little pieces.  
"Bye bye little cookie pocket mug" Gary threw the glass away in the bin and started to get ready for another day of work.

\-------------------------------

Avocato watched his son munch down the food he bought for him. The boy would talk about that human, "Gary" and the things he showed him

"And then yesterday he taught me how to dance" Little Cato swallowed the food down "turns out you just have to step to the beat" he swang side to side, pretending to dance.  
Avocato hummed as he listened to the boy, occasionally telling him to eat slowly or not to talk with his mouth full. 

"I'll have to properly apologise to the human then" Avocato spoke mainly to himself "you know, since he treated you so well" 

"I accidentally broke his mug when you..well..broke in..." Little Cato recalled "maybe we could buy a new one!" He suggested 

"That...is a good idea" Avocato rose his eyebrows as Little Cato finished his food.

Paying the food bill, Avocato left with Little Cato to go look for a mug that Gary would enjoy.  
Avocato looked at simple coloured ones, from navy blues to simple stripes. Little Cato, on the other hand, was looking at the weirdest mugs- some of those weren't even mugs, just cups with weird straws and designs. 

"Be more creative dad!" Little Cato whined as he noticed the white mug with a singke yellow stripe in his father's hands.

"I don't even know what kind of stuff the guy likes" Avocato chuckled at the boy's complains 

"Well..." Little Cato thought "He does enjoy telling dry jokes" Little Cato grinned 

Avocato took this information in and started looking around with Little Cato who kept listing things he noticed about Gary  
"He wears red and asked for a red drink so I assume he likes red" 

Avocato stopped as he eyed a mug that said "Comet me, bro" with a drawing of a red comet. Picking up the mug, he inspected it and turned to Little Cato 

"What do you think?" 

"It's perfect!" Little Cato smiled wide, taking the mug to take a closer look.

"Then it's decided" Avocato announced as he made his way to pay for the item.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AVOCATO AND GARY FINALLY INTERACTED YAYYYYY
> 
> Now the real fun begins~


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst? Yes please♡

"AUGH-" Gary coughed as some smoke came out of the old hoover board he was currently fixing. He waved the smoke away and opened the door to let some air in, catching a glimpse of himself.  
His face was full of black smudges and his overalls all smudged. With a sigh, he tore the rag from his head that kept his hair back and decided he was in need of a short break, maybe take a shower and go out for something to eat.

Ever since Gary met Little Cato he started taking much better care of himself. Since the kid was around he would remember to have regular meals as he would eat with the kid often.  
However, this week the kid was hanging out with his dad and Gary completely lost track of time.

"Must be nice" he spoke softly to himself as he climbed up the stairs and opened the door to his apartment.   
Recalling Little Cato and his dad made his nostalgic about his own dad. He loved going out to catch bugs with his father and although at the time he didn't care much about learning about those bugs, Gary found himself missing his dad nerding over a single moth. 

"Moths didn't evolve around bright lights" Gary spoke to himself as he took off his overalls "they evolved at a time when all the light on Earth came solely from the distant sun, moon and stars" he continued and entered the shower "moths zoom towards unnatural light because the lights throw off their internal navigation systems" he quoted his father with a small chuckle.

Gary washed the shampoo off his hair and turned the shower off. Usually he would take much longer showers since he liked listening and singing to music on his old music player he carried around but he was really digging some Namek Noodles today.   
Drying himself and getting ready he locked the door to his apartment and headed downstairs. 

"Oh wow" Gary breathed, the shop was a little dirty due to the hoover board's smoke incident "Ill clean later" he shrugged it off and closed the door.

From the shadows, someone watched Gary's actions. Following him to his destination.

‐-------------------------------

"Morning!" Little Cato jumped on top of his dad to wake him up

"Oof-- moornnin" Avocato mumbles with a slight chuckle at his boy's excitement.   
Avocato pat the boy before getting up and heading to make breakfast.   
Rushing to the kitchen, Little Cato made his cereal while also making toast for his dad

"What's all this energy coming from" Avocato chuckled with arspy voice from waking up

"I just wanna spend as much time as possible with you, is all" Little Cato explained as he set his cereal on the table and started devouring it

"Woah slow down buddy" Avocato placed his milk and toast on the table "Spending time with me is also eating breakfast with me" He smiled.   
He was enjoying these few days with his son and he was glad his son was too.

"By the way, I've already sent the mug to your...errr.. friend" Avocato spoke

"His name is Gary" Little Cato corrected his father with a smile

"Gary- he should be getting it today" Avocato continued 

"Cool! Can't wait to see his reaction" Little Cato grinned before drinking the milk from his cereal. 

Avocato's first impression of 'Gary' weren't exactly good- that was...until he spoke to the boy with such care and managed to fix a problem him and his son would probably argue about. Little Cato also seemed to really like the human, from what Avocato heard, Gary was a good guy. Naive, but good. 

"You ready to go?" Little Cato asked as he threw his boots on. Avocato chugged his milk and nodded with a smile

"How about some plinking?" He suggested as they walked out, making gunshot gestures

"OOOOH I'm so gonna win against you, dad! Today is the day!" Little Cato responded with excitement to which Avocato took as a yes.

\------------------------------------

Gary slurped on the green noodles having finally mastered the single chopstick technique that they use back in Namek. Don't ask how he's doing it- he just is.   
Not the traditional way though...

Okay maybe he was using his hands as well.

Gary wiped his hands clean and payed for his food before walking out. Once he was met with the warm breeze of the closed off Space station he frowned to himself. There was barely any weather, no plants other than some weeds that managed to break through and no wild animals or bugs.   
Nothing that represented Earth...(taking the rude people as an exception).

In Tera Con Prime, it was rare to find other humans or anyone Gary could relate to. To tell the truth, Gary has been lonely for a very long time and he had considered perhaps trying one of those one night stands just to get a little contact with another living being. Maybe they would be nice enough and go easy on Gary, maybe they would brush his cheeks and touch his hands gently...Just maybe.

By the time Gary realized he was in deep thought he made it into the darker side of the station where the bars and strip clubs were At the side of the street people would tempt him to come closer, to pay them in exchange for some "fun". Gary even managed to get a glimpse of a side boob, immidietly looking away and covering his eyes.  
Gary decided, he wasn't ready. He was nowhere near ready.  
He spent years without being in a proper relationship then being isolated for 5 whole years, there's no way he could ever be ready for even eye contact! Yet here he was in the start of the unpurest part of the station. 

Gary turned around, trying to get by the sea of people who squished him and pushed him. He even felt someone grab his butt for a second. 

Uncomfortable.

Gary felt very uncomfortable...

He wanted to be touched but he didn't want to be touched. Not like this.  
He wanted someone to hold his hand and tell him that things do get better- that he is wanted and loveable and just not some sad failure. 

Squeezing through Gary managed to get into an empty alleyway. Taking shallow breaths he closed his eyes for a second, attempting to focus on his breathing

But the music was loud  
And the chatter was annoying   
The constant moans and drunk laughter drove him crazy.

Gary sat down on the dirty floor that a drunkard has probably pissed on at some point. He shook slightly as he stared down at the floor. His heart rate was...well...not normal.   
"I want to go home" He managed to say to himself as he hugged his knees.   
Home...

Where was home anyway? 

He had no home. The place he lives in is just some old empty, dusty apartment.  
He's just trying to survive at this point.  
It's pathetic.

"How about I take you home, sugar?" A gruff voice asked.  
Gary looked up to see a male alien swaying side to side- he was fat and quite greasy making Gary cringe.  
By focusing on something else other than the noise and place he was in Gary 's breathing slowed down a bit

"No thanks" He shook his head and stood up ready to walk off 

"What the hell- is that how you gonna treat me after being so nice primey?!" The disgusting ball of fat spat, grabbing Gary's arm. 

"Let- me...Go!" Gary tried to break loose but the alien only slammed him against the wall, coming dangerously close.

Now, Gary wasn't a very violent person but sometimes violence had to be done.

"AUGH-" The male fell back on their greasy ass after Gary took his robotic arm and punched him right in the jaw.  
Climbing up on stairs that led to the rooftops, Gary ran and ran- not looking back.

He kept on running until he tripped on a box in front of his shop. Falling on his face, Gary realized he had arrived and took a very anxious glance behind.  
He knew the man couldn't have followed but he was still afraid.

"What the heck is this" He finally looked at the box and picked it up, noticing that his hands were shaking.

Slowly, Gary walked in his apartment heading to his bathroom to grab one of the many pills, taking 2 in a go. 

"Okay" he sighed to himself as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Silence.

The silence was so loud that all his feeling came crashing down.  
Gary broke down. His chest hurt so much and he was so scared and lonely. He took his pillow and hugged it tightly to relieve the weight in his chest. Sobs and sniffling would fill the room as he recalled what happened today and before.  
The tears just wouldn't stop falling so Gary decided to try do something else to distract him

"The box" He sniffed and put it in his lap "must be the piece I need to fix the hoover board" he spoke to himself as he opened it.

Inside was a letter along with a white mug with a picture of a red comet saying "Comet me, bro"   
Gary stared at it. He examined the mug, tracing his fingers over it

"I didn't order this" His voice cracked from all the crying.

Deciding to open the letter as the box was certainly addressed to him, Gary read:

"Dear Gary, 

It has come to my attention that my son, Little Cato, accidently broke your mug because of my rash actions. Please take this gift as a form of an apology for my rudeness the other night.

~ General Avocato

(P.S: Little Cato helped me pick it)"

Gary stared at letter and chuckled at how formal Little Cato's dad was.

"Avocato huh...so thats his name" Gary managed to smile as he looked at the mug with teary eyes.

Maybe he didn't have to be touched. Maybe he just needed a little bit of kindness. 

Hugging the mug, Gary fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor baby had a panic attack


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn't it suck if Gary got hurt?

Gary had fallen asleep on his messy bed while holding onto his new mug. His snores were cut short when he heard heavy footsteps inside his own home. A sudden rush of anxiety as his instincts told him he was in danger.   
He quickly got up to look around, expecting to be just his imagination and anxiety from this afternoon but to his demise, a shadow stood in his room.

They wore a helmet with the visor bright red. It reminded him of Black Manta from Aquaman.   
Their body seemed fit but not huge and the boots looked heavy.

Gary stared at the figure hoping this was one of those things where he is being paranoid or maybe this was sleep paralysis except he could move. 

Gary gulped and hesitated but finally asked the question that was bugging him  
"Who...Who are you?" 

As soon as those words left his mouth the figure dashed for him, a blade coming out of their wrist. Gary let out a panicked scream as he barely managed to dodge it. He scrammed off the bed still holding onto the mug.  
When the figure dashed again, Gary turned to run only to feel something a painful slice on his back

"Ugh-" he fell down being face to face with the heavy boots of this stranger.   
Gary tried to look up but the pain was too immense for him.   
Great. This is just great. Couldn't life get any better?

And just like that, the "Black Manta wannabe" pulled out their other wrist and started setting his apartment on fire. 

"What the hell man?!" Gary shrieked before coughing as the smoke got thicker and the fire stronger.  
The stranger turned to look at them for a while, nodding to themselves before leaving.

Hot...it was too hot...  
Wheezing for air, Gary's vision became blurry.

\-----------------------------

"Did you see that?! I was all like 'pew pew'!! And then CLANK! AND WHOOOSHHH" Little Cato spoke enthusiastically to his father as he recalled using a heavy gun for the very first time.   
Avocato chuckled at the boy's vocabulary and way to describe things. Reaching his hand to his boys head without thinking, Avocato smiled softly. Something rare to see.

Little Cato looked up at him in suprised before shyly looking away with a small smile. The boy had spent so long away from his father that this kind of contact just made him all soft and warm.

Suddenly Little Cato's little sunshine was gone as his eyes turned to a familiar place. His expression changed and his ears drooped.  
Avocato lift an eyebrow, turning to see what the boy was looking at, up ahead an apartment was on fire.  
Avocato noticed that this was where Little Cato's human friend, Gary, worked and lived. 

"Gary!" all of the sudden Little Cato started running towards the scene, calling for his friend.   
Avocato rushed after him, pulling him close just before he did anything too rash

"Let me go!" He tried to push his dad away "Gary!" His voice cracked as tears finally made their way to his eyes.  
Avocato looked around, noticing that people just went on about their day as if nothing was happening. If it didn't have to do with them, it wasn't their buissness.  
Getting on one knee, Avocato grabbed the boy's shoulders 

"Stay right here" he demanded with a worried tone before standing up again and running in.

"Dad!" Little Cato called after him but Avocato did not stop.  
This "Gary" was important to his boy and if it was important to him, it was important to Avocato as well.

Kicking down the door to the human's apartment with a loud BANG, Avocato covered his nose with the sleeve of his arm, searching the room.

He heard coughing and stepped closer, squinting his eyes to try see through the flames.   
There, besides the bed, was Gary layed down holding on to something.   
Avocato hissed as he got too close to the flames and rushed to the human's side, picking then up now noticing that what Gary held onto was the mug they gave him.   
Avocato took the mug and threw Gary over his shoulder, rushing out the door.

As he ran down the stairs, a loud noise was heard above them. Avocato turned up to see the apartment was coming apart (see what I did there heh- APARTment?? No? Ok). Cursing under his breath as he noticed they would be crushed before burned to death, Avocato picked up the speed.

Once he was finally outside, he was greeted with a tearing up Little Cato who had anxiously waited for him. Avocato took a deep breath and coughed as Little Cato wiped the tears and rushed to hug him. He let go of Avocato with a gasp 

"Is he hurt?" Little Cato looked at the floor, a small puddle of blood forming.   
Avocato gave the boy the mug to bring the human down and hold him in his arms, now noticing a slash across his back

"Badly" Avocato replied, turning to his boy "Let's go home" 

With a nod, both of the Ventraxians rushed home

"We could put him in the medical pod!" Little Cato suggested out of breath, placing the mug on a nearby table.

"No- those are for emergencies only" Avocato replied coldly as he walked upstairs

"This is an emergency!!" Little Cato fought back 

"I mean an emergency involving you" Avocato turned to his son "we have limited supplies so I don't want to use them on a stranger" he continued walking, placing the human on his bed. 

"He's not a stranger" Little Cato mumbled

"Little Cato..." Avocato sighed "Trust me, I can take care of him. He'll be better in no time" Avocato tried to comfort his son with a smile, hearing a sniffle escape the boy with a sad "ok"

Avocato turned back to the human and started to work on him. First, removing his shirt and proceeding to clean his wound.  
Little Cato, as anxious as he was, understood that his father needed to focus and so left the room.

Avocato noticed that despite his first impression, the human was quite fit and seemed to take care of himself. He examined his back, the wound luckily wasn't that deep.   
The smell of blood mixed with the human's strange scent as Avocato tried to focus. His scent was oddly sweet to Avocato, something that came as a surprise. With the state of that apartment, he expected the human not to have any sense of hygiene. 

"Okay" Avocato whispered to himself as he turned the human gently to lay on his back, careful not to hurt him. He had wrapped bandages around the man's torso after closing his wound as best as he could.   
Brushing his fur back, Avocato let out a sigh and picked up the human's blood stained shirt, he would change the bed's covers once he woke up. 

"Little Cato?" Avocato called as he removed his uniform coat to put it to wash with the human's clothes. He checked the boy's room to see him sat down in a corner holding the mug he and his father chose for Gary.

"Little Cato?" Avocato called again, softly this time.   
Little Cato looked up and set the mug down as he got up, expecting the worst

"Don't worry, he's alright" Avocato reassured him with a smile.  
The boy rushed to his father's arms and hugged his waist, as he silently cried, thankful that his first and only friend was ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that....Gary got hurt :)


	10. Chapter 10

Gary felt like crap. Gary felt as if crap took a huge crap and that crap took another crap and then made a huge crap sandwich and fed it to crap then gave it to him. In short, he felt super crappy.

He forced his eyes to open, a grunt leaving his lips as he sat up on his unusually soft bed. Bringing his hand to his forehead, Gary tried to recall what happened. Maybe he got a bit too much of a drink? That seemed reasonable since he felt this huge headache-  
"Oh my crap" he breathed as he noticed that there were bloody bandages around his torso. Suddenly it all came crashing down on him- including him.  
Falling onto the floor Gary groaned.   
This wasn't his room. He wasn't having a hangover.   
He was attacked by some weirdo who ended up burning his whole apartment down and cutting him like a loaf of bread. 

"Gosh darn it" he muttered to himself as he felt his back burn. This sucks. Everything sucks.

"Gary?" a quiet voice brought his attention away from the pain "Gary! You're awake!"   
Gary noticed Little Cato, a smile plastered on the boy's lips as he got on his knees to hug Gary. 

"Hey spidercat" Gary said, forcing a smile through the pain of the tight hug. His throat was scratchy and so he tried to clear it up, only sending him in a fit of coughs.

"Woah- You don't look so good" Little Cato pointed out the obvious as he helped Gary up

"yeah well...don't feel so good either" Gary sighed, forgetting to put up a 'hey i'm super brave and strong and can handle all this pain so please don't worry about me' front to the boy.

Little Cato frowned as he helped Gary up "Well at least you look better than...well...when we got you" He smiled

"Oh yeah!" Gary suddenly remembered "What happened? I remembered being on the floor already seeing the gates of heaven...or was it hell?" Gary turned to the boy, muttering the last part as he sat down on the bed with Little Cato

"We were walking back home- me and my dad" Little Cato explained with a frown "We saw your apartment on fire, dad went in to save you" he explained "Then we took you here and he took care of your back! Luckily he didn't have work so he was able to watch over you for a while" Little Cato beamed 

"oh wow...wait- a while?" Gary echoed "How long was I out?"

"nearly a week" Little Cato cringed 

"huh....that explains this on growing pit in my stomach" Gary laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension. 

"Oh! Oh!" Little Cato jumped off the bed "Let's go eat! I haven't eaten breakfast yet" he pulled on Gary's arms, helping him stand.

"okay" Gary chuckled in response as he wobbled out the door with Little Cato who still held his hand almost as if he was afraid if he let go, Gary would disappear.

"Morning dad!" Little Cato called at the top of the stairs to his dad who sat by the table reading some important looking stuff.  
Avocato looked up from his work to greet his son only to freeze as his eyes were met with a pair of blue ones  
"h-hey" Gary greeted, suddenly nervous. Only now did he realize that he was practically half naked which meant that Avocato did see him half naked while he was healing him. Oh God...Gary gave them a lot of work didn't he? Little Cato's dad already is a busy man and Gary happened to wonder in and cause more trouble.  
Noticing his guest becoming very self conscious, Avocato decided to speak   
"you're awake" he stated the obvious   
"yep" Gary replied just as awkward with a smile.

"come on" Little Cato jumped down the stairs leaving Gary to hold onto the wall so he wouldn't trip and most probably die. Gary then heard a chair clatter and he looked up to see Avocato making his way towards the stairs.  
Moving out of the way so Avocato could get past, Gary winced as he put his weight on a not so good foot  
"here" Gary heard and looked up, to see the cat man known as Avocato, offering his hand  
"O-Oh, thank you" Gary stuttered as he took the Ventraxian's hand. While Avocato helped Gary down the stairs, steadying him whenever he was about to trip, Gary noticed that his hand was small compared to his.

"There" Avocato reached the bottom of the stairs with Gary

"Thank you" Gary smiled and watched the man nod at him before returning to work.

"Gary! Come sit" Little Cato called, patting the chair besides him that faced Avocato's. With a chuckle, Gary went to sit down with him "This is my favorite cereal, you should try it" Little Cato pushed a bowl to Gary that was full of colourful fish-shaped cereal that Gary couldn't help but smile at, as it was really cute.

"Thanks Spidercat" He messed the kid's hair gaining a playful groan in return. Gary watched as the child started digging down at his cereal and so he followed his example. "Oh my wow- These taste amazing!" Gary exclaimed as he ate the cereal a bit faster. 

"Told you!" Little Cato laughed, glad that his friend was awake and seemed a bit healthier "Oh right..." Little Cato remembered "You need to be more careful with fire Gary" he said with his mouth full, recalling the fire "you almost-" Little Cato stopped, not being able to complete his sentence

"Got roasted?" Gary finished it for him, in hopes it would lighten up the mood. Gary, swallowed down the last bit of milk before telling his part of the story. "I wasn't necessarily playing with fire, some rando just walked in- cut my back then set my apartment on fire!" Gary spoke, suddenly becoming very angry. 

"So it wasn't you?" Avocato spoke, seemed that the conversation peaked his interest. 

"Not me" Gary smiled, glad to finally have a (sort of) normal conversation with the boy's father. Avocato turned, putting the papers down and his hand on the chin as he thought to himself. Feeling some tension rise, Gary spoke again "Thanks by the way...Little Cato told me what happened. Sorry for all the trouble" 

"It's alright" Avocato attention turned back to the human "Whoever is important to my son is important to me" he said as he picked up his papers again.   
Gary noticed that Avocato didn't necessarily smile at him, rather- his smile was just for his son and Gary thought that was kind of cute (you know for a General of death and all).   
Standing up, Gary picked up his dishes and wobbled towards the kitchen. He didn't want to be any more of a burden and the least he could do was clean his own mess  
"Gary! It's ok, I'll do it" Little Cato rushed to the kitchen, taking his bowl away from him. Standing on a chair, Little Cato began to wash the dishes 

"Look at you, being a responsible young man cat" Gary chuckled as he pat the boy, receiving a grin back

"Wait at the table, I'll be there in a flash!" Little Cato told Gary to which Gary listened, giving a tiny "yes sir" as he wondered back to the table.  
Once he sat down, the silence hit Gary. It hit him hard.   
Usually, when Gary was by himself, it was natural he wouldn't talk much, heck- he even made more noise when he was alone! When with Little Cato, they never stop talking or playing.  
With Avocato? Gary didn't know.  
Gary was a man child and like he mentioned to Little Cato before- he didn't socialize much with others as it always ended in a failure. So now that he was sat here, face to face with a cat man sipping on milk as he does work, Gary didn't know what to do. Should he even be doing something? 

"Is something wrong?" The cat man looked up, knocking Gary out of his train of thoughts (which was a wreck train of thoughts to be exact) 

"Oh- No nothing's wrong" Gary said, quickly looking away "nice place" He muttered, mentally slapping himself.

"Thank you" Avocato replied simply as he looked back at the papers. Gary sat there popping his lips and tapping his legs anxiously "Will you stop that" Avocato gave a small growl, showing annoyance at the human. Gary nodded as he held his breath. Gosh, he was crap at this

"I'm bac-"

"OH THANK GOODNESS" Gary exclaimed as Little Cato arrived to save him from the silence

"You okay?" Little Cato laughed 

"mhm- I'm ok just the VOID OF AWKWARD SILENCE IS CONSUMING ME" Gary replies dramatically mainly to make the boy laugh, gaining laughter from the boy and a weird look from Avocato. Little Cato then went quiet as he thought to himself 

"Gary" Little Cato started as he came closer to the human "What are you going to do once you're all better?" 

"What do you mean Little Dude?" Gary questioned 

"Well..." Little Cato glanced at his father receiving a nod from him "Your whole apartment and shop burned down"

"what"


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary's house was burned down, whatever should he do now?

With a sigh Gary crashed onto Little Cato's bed as the boy sat down beside him. Right now, Avocato was finally washing the blood stained covers Gary was laying in for nearly a week and Gary had just finished showering. Truth be told, Gary wanted to shower longer so he could think a bit more about his situation but he didn't want to cause any more trouble than he already had done.   
Sitting up, Gary messed his damp hair, trying to dry it  
"Stop that" Little Cato laughed as small drops of water were shot at him. The boy paused as Gary did, thinking on what exactly to say.  
There was nothing to say.

"So..." Gary cleared his throat "this is your room?" he asked as he finally took a proper look around. The boy's room was oddly empty. There was just a bean bag chair, his bed, a nightstand and his closet.

"Yeah" the boy shrugged as he layed down on his bed, his feet still touching the floor "does it still hurt?" Little Cato suddenly asked

"Not really" Gary lied as he layed next to the boy in the same manner "Feel like an old man though" Gary joked as he reached for the ceiling.   
Copying the man's actions, Little Cato reached for the ceiling as well, letting his mind wonder 

"I think I might be afraid of fire now" Little Cato confessed to his friend, his face didn't necessarily show any certain emotion but his tail flicked nervously.

"Why?" Gary asked already knowing the answer, getting a "are you serious?" expression from the boy. "I mean...fire has many uses. Sure, what happened will probably mentally ...and physically- scar me but I can't just be afraid of it now" Gary explained, letting his hands fall as he turned his face to the boy "With just fire you can scare animals to where you want them to be which is good for hunting, then you can cook them with fire as well" Gary rambled on

"I guess you're right" Little Cato turned his body to the human, curling up and using Gary's arm as a pillow "you can also make weapons with fire" he added with a smile

"yeah" Gary smiled, glad that he was changing the boy's outlook on the incident "fire also looks pretty darn cool if you ask me" Gary chuckled, noticing the boy trying his best to stay awake. "Things can be scary sometimes" Gary's voice was much softer as he turned to the boy and brushed his hair out of the way "but if you're careful enough, you got nothing to fear".  
The boy was now fast asleep, Gary watched him sleep before turning back to the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye, Gary saw something move and so decided to lift his head slightly to see what it was  
"oh" Gary whispered mainly to himself "Hey" he greeted Avocato quietly who leaned on the door

"Is he asleep?" Avocato checked as he stepped into the room to inspect it himself. Gary nodded, wondering how long he had been standing there. "You can sleep on my bed again today if you wish" Avocato offered to which Gary politely declined

"Thank you but no can do. Once a cat falls asleep on you, you do not move" Gary said as he gestured to the boy. Avocato scrunched his nose in confusion, wondering what a "cat" was but decided not to question it.

"Have you decided what you want to do?" Avocato asked as he sat at the very end of the bed, looking down at the human.   
Gary thought to himself with a sigh 

\---------------------------------------------------------

"what" 

The two Ventraxian's exchanged looks before Little Cato repeated

"Your whole apartment and shop...burned down?" he said, now unsure if this was a good idea to even talk about. Gary had just woken up and now he was getting the news that his only source of money and shelter were gone.

"ohohhoh okay" Gary laughed nervously as he sat back down, Little Cato joined. 

The two Ventraxians watched Gary tap his foot anxiously as he covered his mouth with his right hand and tapped the table with his left, trying to process what he had just been told.   
Stopping his tapping, Gary sighed  
"All of it?" Gary asked, looking at Little Cato then Avocato

"All of it" Avocato nodded, answering it for his son

"wow- okay" Gary looked down at the wooden table "yooou sure?" he looked back at Avocato

"I am sure, I was there when it burned down and have been checking the place. Everything burned down" Avocato answered, his tone was cold as always 

"Really? Thanks" Gary thanked as he looked down at the table again. Avocato didn't really understand what the thank you was for but decided not to question it. "Nothing...not even a tiny ...I dunno- mug.. was saved?" Gary asked nervously 

"If you mean the mug we gave you, it's here" Little Cato chimed in as he ran to the kitchen to get it. 

"For real?" Gary cheered up a bit as Little Cato handed his first gift in a while that helped him get through a rough day "what about the letter that came with it?" he asked looking at the boy. Little Cato tilted his head in confusion before he looked at his father, Gary doing the same

"When I got there, you were on the floor holding onto the cup and only the cup. The note was probably burned." Avocato told his part of the story, watching the human frown with a short "thank you". It was only a note of an apology, why was it so important to him? 

"Guess I better start looking for a job then" Gary chuckled, nervous about his own future. 

"You're in no condition to work, Gary!" Little Cato jumped on his chair, leaning on the table to be the same eye level as his friend 

"Well...I gotta earn money somehow. Can't keep causing trouble for you two" Gary smiled as he rubbed the boys head.

"but-"

"no butts" Gary placed a finger over the boy's mouth "I'll start looking as soon as now!" Gary stood suddenly to make a heroic pose by pointing at the sky only to groan in pain as his back stretched "maybe" he added with a cough as he hunched over the table. 

Avocato who was watching the human finally spoke as he came to make his decision  
"You can stay until you're fully healed. I'll help you look for a job as well" he offered

Gary and Little Cato stared at the man. Little Cato grinning ear to ear as Gary was just in shock  
"w-wait— you sure?" Gary asked, waving his hands in front of him guilty. Avocato took a glance at his son who was bouncing in his chair 

"I'm sure"

\---------------------------------------------------------

"If it's alright with you..I'd appreciate the help". Gary finally confessed with a guilty expression.

Avocato nodded as he stood up   
"So far you've caused no trouble, so I don't really mind" he replied as he headed out the door "Just remember...If you do anything to my son- you're gone." and just like that he switched off the lights and closed the door gently in contrast to his strong threat. 

"Okay then...awesome" Gary whispered into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avocato is going to allow Gary to stay? Whaaaattttt


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone is surprised...turns out they were underestimating a certain someone

"GaaaaRYYYY!!" A cheerful voice called and a sudden weight fell upon Gary's stomach. 

"Ack--" Gary coughed as he sat up, confused and disoriented 

"Oops...sorry, I forgot you were hurt" Little Cato smiled guiltly 

"Wh- Little Cato?" The man squinted his eyes from the bright lights in the room. He looked around, noticing he was in the boy's room.

"Morning!" Little Cato greeted with a grin "I made you cereal, let's go eat" he jumped off the bed and ran downstairs.  
Gary chuckled as he fixed his bed hair the best he could.

Avocato who was sipping on his usual milk, watched the human wobble down the stairs 

"Good morning" they greeted awkwardly, recieving only a nod from Avocato.

"Thanks for the cereal, Spidercat" Gary thanked the boy with a head pat and a lazy smile. Little Cato leaned against the touch of the other with a content smile on their face

"He made a mess in the kitchen just for a bowl of cereal" Avocato told Gary, seemingly catching him by suprise

"That so?" Gary turned to the kid with an amused smile

"Dad!" Little Cato whined, taking more spoonfuls of their cereal. 

Avocato's ears twitched as he heard the human's laugh. Well...it was good he was healing.

He started to wonder why the human became close to Little Cato in the first place. From what Little Cato had told Avocato, Gary didn't have any other friends...so why a child? 

"When you get better we totally need to go there" Little Cato beamed as Avocato tuned back into the conversation 

"Heck yes!" Gary replied with the same energy

"Little Cato, you're going to be late" Avocato warned as he took a glance at the time on his wrist 

"Do I have to go?" Little Cato groaned "I want to play with Gary" 

"Yes" Avocato replied "and Gary isn't going anywhere, he'll still be here when you get back" Avocato finished his milk and stood up "let him rest a little"

Gary chuckled at the conversation   
"You have school, Little dude?"

"Sadly" Little Cato pushed his bowl away as he finished it 

"Hey- school is good! So you better go there and show 'em who's boss" Gary messed with the kid's hair, standing up and grabbing both their dishes.

To Avocato's suprise, Gary's word was enough to excite the boy for school, something he always complained about. 

"Little Cato, mind walking to school by yourself?" Avocato asked as he took the bowls from the human's hands and put them in the sink. He didn't trust the human alone in his home

"Sure!" Little Cato replied as he pulled his boots on, spinning and posing for Gary once done. 

"Looking good!" Gary finger-gunned Little Cato with a wink.

Happy with the compliment, Little Cato jumped into the kitchen and hugged his dad  
"I'll be going now!" He announced

"Be careful" Avocato leaned down and planted a kiss on the boy's head before they skipped away out the door.   
Avocato chuckled as he shook his head in amusement, turning his attention back to the dishes. 

Gary sat down on the table, obviously awkward with being alone with a killing machine closeby. Avocato sighed, he was used to this.   
Wiping his hands on a towel, Avocato approached the human

"You should go wash yourself and then get some rest" he suggested 

The human turned his gaze to Avocato and Avocato noticed his eyes were a pretty shade of blue, like sapphires. 

"Do you play cards" they asked with a determined expression 

"Excuse me?"

"Cards. You know, they're like...uuh" Gary tried to explain, tapping his chin in thought

"I know what cards are" Avocato rolled his eyes "why do you ask?" 

"So we can play?" The human replied, a 'isn't that obvious? Duh' tone to his voice

"I'm quite busy" Avocato replied coldly as he walked towards the stairs, Gary following close behind

"Oh. Okay" they replied with a disappointed look.

Avocato sighed in defeat as he stopped in front of the bathroom, he couldn't believe he was actually considering this

"Perhaps after you wash yourself" Avocato pulled out a towel, handing it to Gary

"For real? heck yeah!" Gary cheered, taking the towel from the other's hands "it's a promise" he winked before entering the bathroom. 

"It's not a promise" Avocato grumbled to himself 

"I'm totally gonna win against you~" the human called back, teasing him

"We'll see about that" Avocato scoffed as he stomped down the stairs.

OK. Avocato had to admit, the human was good.

Currently, Gary was shirtless with no bandages so his skin "can breathe a little". He wore a sh*t- eating grin as he won yet another round

"Again" Avocato growled as he placed his cards back in the deck

"Whoa there buddy" Gary laughed "You the best partner I have ever played with so far" he shuffled the deck skillfully. 

Avocado couldn't understand how this no brains human kept winning against him, the General who commands and plans war attacks. Avocato was all about strategies yet the human still won somehow.

"I'm bac- woah" Little Cato walked in stopping with his eyes and mouth wide 

"Hey, welcome back Little buddy" Gary beamed, waving his empty hand "uuuuh...whats wrong?" He smiled awkwardly 

"I've never seen dad play cards before" Little Cato uproached, sitting in between both adults

"That explains a lot" Gary snickered, earning a growl from the other "So how was school?" Gary asked as he took another card from the deck

"It was ok" Little Cato shrugged, jumping off his chair to get something to snack on "how long you two have been playing?" 

"Pretty much since after you left" Gary shrugged back

"That long?" Little Cato returned "and dad didn't ask to stop so he could do work?" 

"Nope- he's been here begging me to play all day" 

"I have not" Avocato huffed

"That's not fair dad, I wanted to play with Gary but you're the one playing with him" Little Cato sulked, taking a glimpse at his dad's hand and cringing.

Gary chuckled at the boy's expression waiting for Avocato's turn only to win in the end anyway.

"I don't get it, how?" Avocato asked with an annoyed expression but his tone of voice was friendlier. It was clear he was enjoying the challenge. 

"It's easier if you don't underestimate me" Gary smiled knowingly, leaning on his elbow as he raised his eyebrow.

It was true, Avocato was looking down on Gary since the beginning of the game. From what Avocato had observed, Gary was a simple minded idiot who was quite easy to read.  
"You got me" Avocato shook his head with a quiet chuckle as he stood up finally "Can't believe I've been playing cards all day" Avocato smiled contently 

"We should totally play again! That is...If you feel like it" Gary suggested 

"Yeah! Next time you guys can include me as well" Little Cato said excitedly, grabbing some cards and posed. 

"Yeah...maybe we should" Avocato smiled at both of them, helping Gary tidy up the deck "but for now let's bandage your wound again" 

"Alright, my skin had enough oxygen anyway" Gary stretched as he stood up. 

Avocato watched the faint shape of his ribs as he stretched up. His peach skin looked oddly soft and his physique looked healthy.   
Had Gary put more work into his body, Avocato would've mistaken him for some kind of human model. 

Avocato gave the cards to Little Cato so he could put them away and he headed towards the his room, taking the medicine box he needed once he arrived there. 

"Sit" Avocato ordered once Gary shyly walked in, not really turning to look at them. Gary did as told, sitting on his bed with a smile

"Thanks for all the help" 

Avocato lifted his head from the medicine box, how many times was the human going to thank him? 

"Turn around" Avocato ignored their words as he stepped closer with a roll of bandages and cream in hand.

"Yes sir" Gary saluted with a deep voice as he turned around.   
Avocato sighed annoyed, though his mouth betrayed him with a smile.

Gently, Avocato rubbed the cream onto Gary's back

"Augh! Cold" Gary arched his back away from the touch

"Dont be a baby" Avocato grinned to himself, amused. He rubbed his hands where the wound was, his smile falling "this is gonna leave a nasty scar" Avocato informed as he wrapped the bandages around the other. 

"A sick scar" Gary corrected "its gonna be tight" 

It was clear that Gary was trying his best to have a positive outlook on the whole situation, Avocato could only wonder how he did it.  
He sure has been underestimating Gary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at like 3am so if something isn't right...  
> Yeah..


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato's break is nearly over

"Boom baby!" Avocato cheered as he won against Gary yet again. Ever since he stopped underestimating Gary he found that the man was quite readable in otherways.  
For example, the man would tap either his foot or fingers whenever he was having trouble and his eyes would look up at Avocato a second to long when he was confident.   
It was little things but Avocato found himself learning more about the human by playing cards with him. Heck- he actually was starting to like the human. 

Avocato wouldn't lie, he enjoyed listening to his boy's laughter and excitement which happened mostly when Gary was around. The kid seemed to love the guy. 

Ring Ring Ring

"Excuse me" Avocato checked who the caller was. Realising who it was, he excused himself to his room to answer, leaving Gary downstairs by himself.

Bored from being left alone, Gary started building a card castle. Getting frustrated whenever it fell down from a small sigh.   
Honestly, Gary was enjoying his time here. He never had real friends or any of that sort but he liked to consider Avocato one- afterall, he was the father of his little bestie, Little Cato.

With a sigh, Gary gave up on the castle and leaned back on the chair as best as his wounded back could.   
Whenever the man was alone like now or before he went to sleep with Little Cato, he'd stare at the ceiling and think how he would survive.   
He will need a new job and a new apartment, which sucked bad. After all that work, all that job searching and apartment hunting...  
The only good thing coming out of this was not working for that gremlin, Clarance, as well as hanging out more with Little Cato, that was it.

Avocato had mentioned helping him look for jobs once he was all better but Gary felt as if he had caused enough trouble.  
Popping his lips, Gary tried to think of a solution. He could accept any job, to be fair, he just had to fake it until he made it....right?

Gary was knocked out of his train of thought when Avocato returned. His shoulders were tense and his jaw clenched together, he practically looked like a rock

"Woah- you good dude?" Gary asked with concern as he watched the other sit down.

"Yeah just...my break is almost up" he sighed, looking at the mess of cards on the table.

Gary bit his lip guilty as he cleaned up the cards  
"I'm sorry..." Gary apologized "maybe if I weren't here you could've spent more time with Little Cato" 

"What?" Avocato raised his head to look at Gary "Don't blame yourself, I would've gone back eventually" Avocato waved his hand as he picked some cards himself. 

Gary wasn't convinced with that but decided not to press any longer as he watched the other bite his claws in deep thought.

"Little Cato kept telling me how excited he was to have me home" the other sighed in frustration, opening up to Gary without realizing 

"I'm sure he'll understand" Gary tried to give the other a comforting smile, placing his hand over Avocato's to reassure him. 

"I'm home!" a cheerful voice rung out.  
Taking his attention away from Avocato, Gary stood up to greet the boy leaving Avocato to stare at his hand that the human held seconds ago.

"Wazzzuuuppp" Gary greeted, putting his tongue out 

"Wazzzaaaaahhhhhhhpppppp" Little Cato imitated, laughing as he placed his bag down.

Avocato watched the scene before him in deep thought with an unreadable expression, not noticing Gary's confused expression. Avocato was worried about Little Cato, it was obvious the kid was lonely without his father, he wouldn't know how to tell him that he had work to do again way less leave the kid alone once again. 

"Avocato?" Gary waves his hand in front of the other's face "You've been staring really hard at me dude, I'm getting nervous" Gary laughed anxiously as he finally snapped Avocato out of his thought process

"unless..." was Avocato's mumbled reply before he returned to stare intensely at Gary. As awkward as it was for Gary, the human just shrugged and copied Avocato's gestures, beginning a staring contest.  
"What are you doing?" Avocato questioned 

"HAH! You blinked! I win" Gary cheered 

"What? I wasn't-" Avocato sighed in defeat, knowing that Gary would just continue no matter how much he protested "wait...where's Little Cato?" he stood up, noticing the kid wasn't around

"Weeellll...." Gary started, rolling his hand in the air "You were gazing at me with those lovey-dovey eyes so he decided to give us some alone time" Gary winked. That was not what Little Cato said but it was pretty close, Gary just twisted the words to try cheer the stressed Avocato.   
The Ventraxian gave the other an annoyed eye-roll as he climbed the stairs to go talk with his son.

"Hey...How was school" Avocato leaned against the door as his kit got changed into a hoodie

"It was fine I guess..." Little Cato groaned before smiling up at his dad.

Avocato loved that smile, it was all he ever wanted for the kid- to keep smiling. Sadly, Avocato wasn't the kind of father that could keep their kid happy...

"What do you want to eat tonight?" he asked with a smile "Anything, anywhere- We can take Gary" Avocato chuckled, adding the other part as he knew Little Cato would ask

"w-wait? For real?!" he asked excitedly, bouncing in place "Oh! Oh! How about that sushi place down the street?" Little Cato suggested with a huge grin

"you got it" Avocato nodded "I'm going to go tell Gary" he turned to leave, closing the door and hearing a "WOO-HOO" from the other side. Smiling to himself, Avocato decided to enjoy this before worrying about telling Little Cato the news  
"Gary! Come here" He called the human, walking to his own room. It wasn't long until the human poked his head in with a clueless smile

"What's up?" he asked only to be thrown a sweater at his face "Augh- What the...?" He grabbed the sweater to look at it with a confused expression 

"Put it on, we're going out" Avocato ordered, crossing his arms "your shirt is filthy with blood stains so wear that" 

"wo-woah" Gary laughed nervously "When I said lovey-dovey it was just a joke Avocato" Gary blushed, doing as told anyway as he noticed Avocato wasn't going to leave to give him privacy

"No- you idiot" Avocato rolled his eyes "The three of us are eating out" he explained, receiving a "aaaaah" from Gary.  
While changing, Gary did it very slowly which somehow seemed to frustrate Avocato. The human was removing his shirt painfully slowly, almost in a teasing way, Avocato would've said something about it until he noticed that Gary wasn't just trying to annoy him but he was genuinely having trouble due to his back wound.

"Here. I'll help" Avocato stepped closer, helping the human remove the shirt

"T-Thanks" Came the embarrassed reply as Avocato put on the white turtle neck sweater over his head.   
The sweater sat loosely against Gary's body, being much bigger to him. Avocato helped him fold the edges of the sleeves though they remained long, the bottom of the sweater hanging just below the other's butt as the turtle neck covered nearly half of his face  
"How do I look?" Gary asked, making a small dumb pose to erase the awkward situation

"Ridiculous" was Avocato's reply, though his smile told Gary that it wasn't in a bad way "Let's go then" Avocato started going down the stairs, noticing an excited Little Cato already waiting at the bottom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be longer;;


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato seems to be thinking over some things...

"Sushi! Sushi! Sushi!" Both Little Cato and Gary chanted as they made their way down the street.  
Avocato could only pinch the bridge of his nose in embarrassment, knowing fully well that his soldiers were to gossip about this.

"Oh! Oh!" Little Cato suddenly chirped "There it is!" The kit held onto both Gary's and Avocato's hand, rushing to the restaurant with a huge grin. Avocato took the moment to glance at Gary who simply smiled fondly at the kid.

It was clear that Gary meant no harm to his kid.

Once they had arrived, Avocato had gotten them a high class table which somehow left Gary nervous

"If you have to pee just go" Avocato teased, knowing that the human was simply fidgeting out of anxiety 

"I-I don't have to go pee, dude!" Gary protested quickly, huffing and forcing himself to stop fidgeting with the bottom of the sweater.

The sweater was really warm despite Gary not wearing a shirt underneath it. Gary found that the sweater had a mixture of scents, it smelt like both home and Avocato, which Gary found himself liking quite quickly. 

"Come on Thunder Bandit! Let's go get those sushis!" Little Cato hopped off the chair, pretending to cock an imaginary gun

"Ohohoh! You're on Spidercat" Gary grinned, imitating the kid's actions before following after him.

Avocato, on the other hand, sat patiently, deciding he didn't want to go pick his food with those two embarrassing him. Instead, he sat back and watched Gary with a thoughtful expression.

He had been considering it and the fact that he still was considering it meant that it wasn't a bad idea, so Avocato decided on sticking to his decision.  
He would tell the two at the end of dinner.

"Ta-da~" Gary arrived holding just one plate and placing it in the middle of the table "Sushi pyramid!" He jazzed his hands towards the plate, revealing a tall pyramid made out of sushi.

"I picked the sushi!" Little Cato said proudly, sitting in between Avocato and Gary on the round table.

"You didn't come with us to take food so I decided to just bring the food to you" Gary smiled, dipping his sushi in soy sauce before popping in his mouth.

It appears that by not going with them to avoid embarrassment, Avocato still got to be embarrassed. Can't they understand he has a reputation to keep? If the enemy were to find out he hangs around a doof of a human they would assume he, too, was a doof.

"Thanks" Avocato sighed, finding that he couldn't stay mad at those two innocent faces that meant no harm.

Meanwhile, Little Cato was biting his tongue in focus, trying to copy Gary and use chopsticks

"How...do you-" he grunted, ending up in stabbing a sushi instead. Gary laughed in response to Little Cato's struggle

"Spidercat" he sighed with a chuckle, scooting closer to help him "you got to hold it like this- and place your finger here" Gary guided them, talking slowly and gently with the kid.

"Oh! I did it!" Little Cato looked up at Gary grinning "dad look!" He turned to Avocato, taking a sushi and holding it up proudly. Just before Little Cato put the food in his mouth, Gary chomped in, stealing the sushi.

"Gary!" Little Cato whined, playfully hitting his friend.

"Little Cato" Avocato suddenly addressed the kit. Somehow, the scene before Avocato of Gary teaching his kid so kindly and the happy smile he bought him made him certain that this was right, to the point he was talking without thinking.

"I am going back to work" 

And just like that, Little Cato's whole body language changed. His tail, ears and smile dropping within seconds

"Oh..." was all Avocato got from the kid

"As for you Gary..." Avocato turned to the human, who didn't look too pleased with Avocato ruining the mood "I have found a job for you"

"B-but dad! Gary is still hurt" Little Cato quickly butted in, afraid that he would be all alone again. First Avocato going back to work and now Gary leaving for his job, it wasn't fair.

"This is a job he can do at his condition" Avocato reassured, turning back to the human who looked both happy and unsure. Taking a deep breath in, Avocato finally said it

"Gary, I want you to babysit Little Cato" 

There was silence as a response. Both stared with wide eyes at Avocato in disbelief.  
Realizing no one would say anything anytime soon, Avocato continued

"You have proved that you are capable of taking care of my boy- capable of keeping him happy..." Avocato gave them a small smile "don't worry, I will pay you greatly and you are allowed to quit anytime you'd like" he reassured the blond.

"I-I-" Gary stammered, unsure on what to say. He was getting a great deal here, taking care of Little Cato would be like hanging out with a friend, wouldn't feel like work.

"It's your choice to do what you want with the money, save up and buy a place to stay" Avocato suggested "I will pay you monthly but, of course, if you are to need any money you can ask for some. Any money used on Little Cato won't count and you will still get your promised pay" 

Little Cato finally glanced at Gary with wide eyes. He wanted to plead the other to agree to the offer but didn't want to force him upon it.

"Wow- okay" Gary chuckled nervously, brushing his hair back before playing with the paws of Avocato's sweater that he borrowed "that...that sounds too good to be true" Gary admitted "you for real?"

"As real as it gets baby" Avocato grinned, taking a sip of his drink "what do you say?"

"I say-" Gary turned to Little Cato with a wide grin "Let's do it!"

"Yes!" Little Cato cheered, throwing his arms around Gary's neck and nuzzling in. He wouldn't be alone from now on.

"Good. Its a deal then" Avocato smiled, thankful that he found a solution to Little Cato's loneliness while he worked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gary is officially the babysitter! Yay!!
> 
> Sorry this was short~


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse in Little Cato's school life and how he changed

"You sure you two will be okay?" Avocato asked as he threw on the jacket of his uniform 

"Yes dad" Little Cato rolled his eyes playfully, poucing on his dad to hug him 

"Alright" Avocato hugged the kit back "you know what to do if you need me"

"Go to the Lord Commander's head quarters and let Little Cato handle the rest" Gary answered, earning a nod from Avocato 

"I left some money for you two if you need anything, alright?" He nuzzled his kit before putting him down "goodbye" 

"Bye" Little Cato waved a bit sadly, despite having Gary now, it still hurt to see his dad go 

"See you" Gary waved with a smile, placing his hand on Little Cato's shoulders to comfort him as Avocato left.   
The man paused just as Little Cato did, looking at the door a moment longer before turning to the young kit   
"Come on Little Cato, back to bed we go" he softly said, gently pushing Little Cato back upstairs.  
Once Little Cato was in bed, Gary carefully tucked him

"Goodnight Gary" Little Cato yawned

"Goodnight Spidercat" Gary smiled, brushing the hair out of Little Cato's face with a tired smile and headed to lay on the bean bag. 

The night was cold, Gary always hated the cold.  
Cold only reminded him how alone he truly was.

The young boy sat in the treehouse, watching his mother come and go with different men or drinks. He never questioned it, there was nothing to question.

All he knew was that somehow he ruined her life.

"Gary!" Little Cato shook the human "wake up! I have school" he huffed. Sure, Little Cato didn't need Gary to be awake since he would walk to school alone anyway but, now that he had someone, he didn't want to eat breakfast alone anymore.

"Wha-" Gary sat up, wincing at the sharp pain in his back "I-I'm awake" he yawned

"Come on" Little Cato pulled the other's sleeve, dragging the half asleep Gary downstairs "I've already made you cereal"

"Oh wow- how thoughtful" Gary smiled tiredly, sitting down on the table with Little Cato "thank you" 

Little Cato smiled in return and began to dig in happily, the sound of Gary eating besides him making him feel more at ease.  
He had a feeling today would be a good day.

"Gary?" The kit finished his cereal, drinking the milk off the bowl as he earned a hum in response "are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, don't you worry about me" Gary was quick to reassure the kid, messing up his spikey hair

"Hey!" The boy complained with a laugh "well okay...don't try do anything that will open up your wound though" Little Cato said with worry, standing up and putting on his backpack 

"You got it Spidercat" Gary saluted, standing up as well as he headed towards the door to see Little Cato off "and you dont do anything that will get you in trouble alright? Unless that is being awesome- then be the most awesome of awesomeness" Gary grinned

"Oh I will- Gonna be the most awesome of awesomeness awesome!" Little Cato returned the grin, fist bumping Gary as he skipped out the door "See ya TB!"

"See ya SC" Gary chuckled, watching Little Cato as he leaned against the door frame, only closing the door when he couldn't see him anymore.

"Now..." Gary placed his hands on his hips as he looked around. If he is going to stay over the least he could do is help around the house "lets start small" he hummed, heading to wash the dishes.

\--------------------------------------

Little Cato walked through the school's halls, despite everything being exactly the same as it was before, his walk had some beat to it and his tail swing side to side contently. He payed no mind to the same whispers, he was too much into his own little world to care.

Little Cato never wanted a babysitter but now that his only and best friend was his babysitter he couldn't help but smile. Heck- all he did was eat breakfast with the guy and he felt so much better than the previous mornings his father wasn't home.

"Freak" a sudden kid had pushed the boy against the lockers "what you so happy about, huh?" An alien kid loomed over Little Cato with a grin

"Careful dude, he'll tell on his daddy" another kid stepped up with a snicker, mocking Little Cato.

Little Cato's ears dropped which only made the two laugh harder

"Wow- so this is the son of the all great General Avocato" the long nose, bugs bunny tooth alien mocked

"Pathetic" the bald tall alien spat, looking down at Little Cato with disgust.

Suddenly Little Cato had a feeling today wasn't a good day at all. The moment he had realized it, the whispers around the halls got louder and he could hear people snickering here and there.  
Nothing changed, everything was the same as always. How dumb could he be? 

As the bald alien rose his fist to punch Little Cato, the boy braced himself, Gary's words ringing in his head

"dont do anything that will get you in trouble alright? Unless that is being awesome"

Thats right...he promised he'd be awesome today and waiting for a punch was definitely not awesome.  
Gary gave Little Cato permission to cause trouble if it meant being awesome, so he should be fine right? This would be fine right?

Swallowing down his fear, Little Cato quickly dodged the punch, making the kid slam his fist against the locker harshly. Little Cato watched the other let out a cry, snickering to himself as he tripped him up and made him fall on his butt.

"Here, let me help" Little Cato grinned, blowing on the bald head and cleaning it with his hand as if it was a window.

"Why you Little shi-" just before the other stood, Little Cato slammed his fist ontop of their bald head with force.

"H-hey! What do you think you're doing?" The long nosed alien butted in, ready to stand up for his friend.

"Stop being nosey" Little Cato rolled his eyes, pulling on their nose and twisting it. The long nosed alien let out a pained cry, stumbling backwards instantly to hold his bleeding nose.  
Little Cato laughed to himself at the sight, turning on his heel and heading to class. 

He payed no mind to the lack of whispers as he made his way to his next class.

\-----------------------------------------

"There" Gary wiped his brow as he stood in the clean living room proudly. He had made sure not to move anything out of place while cleaning so everything looked the same only much more sparkly.

"Gee whizz" he sighed as he rubbed his back "this really is tiering without music" he groaned as he made his way upstairs to clean Little Cato's room.

The child's room was quite bare, boring and empty and Gary considered encouraging the other to get things for their room to make it more....Little Cato.

Cleaning the room, Gary didn't have to worry much about keeping things where they were as there wasn't much, the problem was Avocato's room, Gary wasn't even sure if he was allowed to touch anything in there.  
Instead, Gary cleaned the floors and left the General's room as it was , closing the door behind him.

"Okay" Gary hummed to himself as he put things away, who would've thought he'd be doing house work? Gary, acting like a normal human being...the world sure is crazy.

"Little Cato should be coming back soon" he checked the time, tying the obviously unused apron around him to get dinner started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter~


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school calls

"I'm back!" Little Cato hopped in, dropping his bag near the door as he sniffed the air, grinning wide.

He wasnt walking to an empty home...

"Gary? Whatcha cooking-" Little Cato's grin turned into a surprised expression, looking at Gary who swayed in the unused apron

"Oh hey! Welcome back Spidercat!" Gary beamed, twirling around "I'm almost done so just hold on" he smiled. 

"Youre wearing the apron" Little Cato stated the obvious. Gary only blinked in reply, looking down at himself and the apron, wondering if maybe it was really important- hence the reason why no one wore it.

Gary started to become worried, he didn't want to ruin the sweater Avocato lent him but now he was wondering if he was ruining something more important.

"I bought that for dad" Little Cato stepped closer 

"Little Cato- I-I am sorry I didn't-" 

"As a joke" Little Cato finished his sentence, eyeing the comically girlish apron with frills and a heart "and you're wearing it?"

"Im...sorry" Gary looked down at the boy with guilt "I just didn't want to- I'll remove it right now-" 

"What? No! It's fine!" Little Cato laughed "I just- you wear it like it's nothing" he giggled 

"Well...it is pretty cute" Gary checked the apron once again, not understanding what was funny 

"Wait- you like it?" Little Cato snickered to which Gary nodded, confused by the whole situation.   
"O-okay-" Little Cato took a breath, trying to calm his laughter "you can keep it then" he grinned, clearly amused 

"What?!" Gary gasped "I couldn't! This was a gift- to your dad!" Gary began to try undo the bow on the back "p-plus I kinda wanna see him wear it- just imagine, a general wearing something...adorable...ooooooooooooh" Gary stopped undoing his knot, realizing why the apron was a joke now.

"Yep" Little Cato perked up, proudly "I have a picture" he grinned.

Gary's eyes went big, gasping with a tiny squeal as he quickly turned the stove off  
"Show me show me show me show me" he grinned as wide as the boy, leaning in to look at the picture on his phone screen.

There it was, in all its glory, a picture of general Avocato. The man looked obviously embarrassed, trying to keep his image in a cute frilly apron.   
Gary could already see it, Avocato not wanting to let Little Cato down by not wearing the gift, ending up in this.

"Oh my-" Gary snickered "he looks so adorable" he covered his mouth, holding in his laughter.

"You should've seen his face when I told him I was only kidding with him" Little Cato laughed, putting the phone away. The boy was ready to go on about how his father was embarrassed for a long time and how he would bring it up all the time just to watch his father hide his face in shame but he was interrupted by the sound of the house's phone ringing.

Little Cato and Gary exchanged looks, shrugging to each other as they knew what each were thinking.

Little Cato was the one who was always home answering the calls but Gary was obviously the adult and (slightly more) responsible one. 

Maybe it was the finally having someone over and not being alone anymore but Little Cato wanted to be selfish for once, lightly nudging Gary to go forth and answer the phone, Little Cato wanted to feel like a kid- not having to take over adult's phone calls. 

Gary took a nervous step forwards, glancing back at the boy with uncertainty before lightly smiling. It must have been hard for Little Cato, he couldn't let the boy down now...not when Little Cato finally has someone to rely on when his father isn't around.

"He-" Gary cleared his throat in embarrassment as his voice cracked "hello?" He answered.  
Gary's voice was much lower than usual, his 'phone voice' sounding much more mature than his regular one.   
Little Cato sat on the couch, watching in awe at the change in Gary's behaviour, suddenly reminded that Gary was really an adult.

"Little Cato's father isn't present....I am his caretaker, yes" Gary glanced over at the boy as he hummed in response to whatever the other line was saying "I see, I will have a talk with him and his father, thank you" Gary sighed, sounding disappointed before he set the phone down.

Little Cato tensed when Gary turned, his expression still serious from the call  
"It was the school" Gary informed the small kit who's ears were quick to lower

"I-I'm sorry--"

"Well done" Gary smiled, catching the boy of guard

"W-wha--" Little Cato stammered, what did Gary mean by "Well done"? Didn't Little Cato do a bad thing? Didn't he cause trouble?

"I heard how you made a fool out of those kids" Gary grinned, walking over to take a seat besides Little Cato on the couch "you were pretty awesome" 

Little Cato blinked in surprise   
"You're not going to tell dad?" He asked with worry, not wanting to bother his father anymore than he already has

"Not if he asks, no" Gary smiled softly "plus...I know you wouldn't have done it for the sake of the fun of it" Gary pat the boy's head "so what was it?"

"What?" Little Cato wasn't sure how to react. Someone was actually willing to listen to his side of story.   
He stared up at Gary with wide eyes before leaping foward and wrapping his arms around the other. Smudging his face against the human's chest.

"W-woahohoho" Gary winced between his surprised chuckle, bringing his arms around the kit "you alright, Spidercat?" He asked with worry

"Yeah...its just-" Little Cato nuzzled closer, finding that he quite enjoyed Gary's scent mixed with his father's "You gave me permission right? To do all that.."

"Well...not exactly" Gary laughed quietly "I gave you permission to be awesome- and that...well that was awesome but only for the right reason so...you gotta tell me and I will be the judge of it, alright?" He spoke softly to the kid who finally let go to look up at him

"Alright" Little Cato nodded, taking a deep breath and looking down as he recalled the events of the day and the previous ones.

"I was sick of it" Little Cato spat "I was sick of getting picked on for either being too strong like my dad or not strong enough- I never was doing the right thing! If I was too quiet, I wasn't brave enough and if I was too talkative, I was too annoying!   
No matter what I did, whenever I tried to correct it later or not, I was always picked on..." he tried not to frown, wanting to remain angry instead of upset "t-they are always pushing me around and taking advantage of the fact that I dont strike back, of the fact that I dont want to cause trouble or get told off by my dad-" he sighed, ears flopping "so when you told me to be awesome...I thought that maybe...I dunno" 

Gary listened carefully, picking up the kit to set him on his lap  
"So you were defending yourself or did you go look to give some payback?" He asked the boy, patiently.

"I guess...defending myself" Little Cato looked down at the lap he sat in, not used to the contact but not disliking it either "they pushed me against the lockers and were going to beat me up again..." 

"I see" Gary sighed, frowning slightly as he learnt that this was a frequent thing. He would have to take these matters into his own hands if this kept up.  
"Then...I say you were pretty awesome" he smiled down at the boy "you showed them who was boss- up top!" 

Little Cato looked at the offered high-five then at Gary's grinning face that was so contagious that Little Cato found himself grinning back.

"Yeah!" Little Cato slapped his palm against Gary's 

"Nothing's more awesome than standing up for your self, Spidercat" Gary stood with the boy in his arms "so when the school tells you are in trouble for trying to protect yourself you remember my words, alright? Because there is nothing wrong with not wanting to get your ass beat" Gary walked towards the table with a soft smile, setting the kit down on his chair "now...Im going to set up dinner and as soon as I sit down- I want all the details!" Gary span, walking in the kitchen.

Little Cato stared after Gary, a small smile of surprise at the other's words but also at the amount of physical contact Gary seemed to offer. The boy found that the chair he sat in was no where as comfortable as the human's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gary in a cute apron, thank you very much.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary is just vibin with his little spidercat

As hard as it was to tell in the space station, it was now night time.   
Little Cato had rambled all he had to say about his day, Gary listened carefully, cheering for the boy's small achievements. The two had decided to eat dinner on the couch while watching a movie, Gary still wearing the pink apron.

Gary smiled softly as he felt Little Cato's head fall on his shoulder, knowing fully well the other had fallen asleep. He decided not to move for now, not wanting to wake the child that slept besides him. Instead, Gary kept watching the action movie Little Cato had picked out, feeling himself grow tired. 

When had Gary last experienced this kind of peace? That he wouldn't know...  
The peace of sitting back and watching a movie with someone besides you, the relief that the day was over and soon you'd rest and wake up to another good day, the feeling of warmth and the sound of someone's slow breaths besides him...

Before Gary knew, he was already tearing up, bringing his arm around the small kit's shoulder to hold him closer.   
It was a weird feeling...

Gary took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose as he slowly moved, carefully picking up the child in his arms. He let out a small groan from the sharp pain in his back, giving a small jump to balance Little Cato properly.

There were heavy footsteps outside, slow but loud enough that Gary could hear. Gary snapped towards the door's direction, taking a step back when he heard the knob being fundled with.  
The door clicked open and Gary instantly turned to it, spreading his legs apart silently in defense as he protectively placed a hand over Little Cato's head.

"He...llo?" Avocato walked in, slightly surprised to see someone awake as he usually walked to an empty living room. He studied Gary's body language and was quick to understand.   
It was only fair, he had broken inside Gary's apartment once and then some stranger did as well, ending up in not only hurting him badly but destroying the whole place.

However, the way Gary held onto Little Cato protectively didn't go unnoticed.

"Thank you for looking after him" Avocato smiled softly, watching Little Cato knead the apron Gary wore. Avocato found that, despite as feminine and over the top as it was, it suited the human well.

"Oh! Hello" Gary gave the general a small embarrassed chuckle, watching him look Gary up and down at his getup "I was just about to put him to bed" he gestured to Little Cato, jumping yet again with a wince "I covered your dinner with some cling film, its in the fridge" he informed the other, giving a small smile.

"Thank you, you didn't have to" Avocato made his way to Gary with a small nod in gratitude. He hired the man to be a babysitter but it seems he got a housewife instead, judging by the clean scent of the house and the food Gary left for him.  
"Here, I'll take him" Avocato reached for his child, taking him from Gary's arms with a soft smile.

Gary wouldn't lie, anyone would fall in love with such a gentle smile. Imagine never seeing a handsome man, such as Avocato, smile then- Boom! Here it was, blessing Gary's eyes, the most loving smile Gary had ever seen.

"You alright?" Avocato lifted an eyebrow, noticing how the human's cheeks changed color

"Oh! Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine" Gary laughed nervously, stepping back from Avocato.

Avocato gave a small frown, he was used to others being afraid of him and wanting distance but if he wanted Gary to take care of his kid then it would be best to get along with him.   
Sighing, he gave a small nod to Gary to excuse himself, walking upstairs to put Little Cato to bed.

"Huh..." Avocato tucked the kit in bed, looking around at the very clean room. Gary had certainly done a good job.  
Giving the small kit a kiss goodnight, Avocato made his way back downstairs, finding that he was indeed starving.

It wasn't anything new, honestly, Avocato was just too lazy to make himself anything to eat when arriving home, having Gary was certainly handy.

"Oh! I've already warmed up your food" Gary smiled as the other entered the kitchen, turning back to the dishes he was washing. Avocato walked over, nodding with a small "thanks".

He stared at the human's back as the quiet buzz of the microwave drowned the silence. He watched how Gary swayed side to side as if there was a upbeat melody constantly playing in his head.  
Avocato looked him up and down, eyes taking in every bit of detail. He wondered if Gary's back still hurt as bad as when he first got the wound and if he should get more pain reliefs for the human- however, Avocato was taken by surprise as he noticed his eyes seem to settle in a place other than Gary's small back, his swaying hips and....well built behind.

The 'ding' of the microwave had saved Avocato from thinking any further- it was just a habit is all...Avocato was used to analysing others and maybe...maybe Gary's hips just had something different?   
Right...Avocato had never payed much attention to humans- that was all.

Taking a seat on the table, Avocato began to eat in the dark, ears perking up at the taste of the food.  
"This is good" he muttered to himself, looking down at the plate

"Thank you" Gary turned on the lights and made his way to sit in front of Avocato with a glass of water, smiling.

Avocato glanced up before he continued to eat, neither spoke but Gary found that this silence wasn't bad- it was calming and pleasant.   
Sipping on his water, Gary fidgeted with his shirt- knowing that tapping seemed to annoy the other

"Erm..." he struggled to break the silence, placing the cup down "I was wondering..."

"Yes?" Avocato gave Gary his full attention as he began talking, gesturing for him to go on. If Gary were to ask for a request and Avocato were to grant it....maybe then he'd be less afraid.

"I was wondering if I could take Little Cato out tomorrow?" Gary asked, looking at Avocato in hopes he'd say yes.

"After school right? I don't see why not" Avocato was quick to answer.  
He had seen how Gary had protectively held Little Cato and how he had taken care of him, he trusted Gary to do his job. 

Gary blinked in surprise, not by the quick permission but by the very faint smile Avocato seemed to offer. That smile wasn't for Little Cato...it was for Gary and somehow....Gary felt that it was very special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avocato, sweetie, thats called checking someone out


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato gives a little call uwu

"Be careful, Little Cato" Gary walked towards the door, handing the kit his backpack "remember to-"

"Yeah yeah, I got it" Little Cato took the bag from Gary's hands, putting it on "meet you in front of the sushi place we went with dad" he grinned, swaying on his heels, trying to contain his excitement.

Gary chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he realized he may have repeated it a few too many times.   
"Be good, alright?" He smiled softly, brushing the kid's hair back before opening the door for him.

Little Cato gave a shy nod in response, still getting used to the whole physical contact between another person that wasn't his dad. Hopping out of the house he gave Gary an enthusiastic wave, grinning big. As Gary tried to answer with the same kind of energy, waving in the air just like the kit, Little Cato decided that only Gary would get the special treatment of him allowing the other to be so close (his father was already a given, he loved when Avocato gave him attention).

Gary laughed, watching the kit walk backwards, still waving until he was out of sight. Sighing contently, Gary looked around, his smile dropping-  
It was such a shame that there were no such things as sunny or even calming rainy days...it was always just....well....dark.

Glancing over to the smoke rising in the air, Gary frowned. He really missed Earth...  
Correction- he missed the weather, the smell of the dirt and rain, the warmth of the sun and hot chocolate on a snowy day, the bugs hed catch during summer in his childhood and

"Dad" he sighed, closing the door behind him with a bitter look in his eyes that he refused to show anyone- especially Little Cato.

Gary's attention was taken away by the house's phone ringing. He nervously made his way to the device, staring at it with uncertainty. Gary was sure whoever called knew Avocato was working but still he wasn't too sure whenever or not he should even answer-  
Should he pick up? Leave it be?   
His hand hovered over the telephone and he started a countdown- if the phone were still ringing then he'd answer.

"6....5.....4....3....3.....3....." 

Meanwhile, in his office, was Avocato with a phone against his ear, staring at the security camera in his living room.

"What the hell is he doing" he wondered out loud, watching the human walk around the table then back to the phone then back around the table. Avocato gave a fustrated sigh, zooming in on the human's worried face who was biting on his nails.

Avocato rolled his eyes, pulling out a different device as he let the phone ring as he pressed a button on it

"Just answer the damn phone" he watched Gary yelp, jumping away from where a hologram of Avocato would be.

"A-Avocato?" Gary stepped closer to the hologram, inspecting it with curiosity "wow...its almost as if you're here" he smiled while Avocato flinched away, the hologram of Gary coming far too close to his face.

"Why didn't you answer the phone?" he asked, annoyed, finally turning off the other call so the ringing wouldn't interrupt his conversation.

"Well..." Gary laughed sheepishly, twiddling with his fingers "I didnt know who was calling or even if I was allowed" 

"Most guards are aware I have gotten a babysitter for Little Cato, if you introduce yourself as such, you shouldn't be concerned as they wouldn't do anything to you" Avocato looked down at his papers, deciding to work as he talked to Gary.

"Are you saying they would if I wasn't the babysitter" Gary gave a worried laugh, looking around the hologram until finding where the device was. He smiled to himself, picking it up and placing on the table so it would be as if he was sat face to face with Avocato.

"Of course" was Avocato's simple reply, lifting an eyebrow as the hologram was moved 

"And? Why did you call?" Gary asked curiously, swinging his legs under the table "you look very busy so I doubt it was for nothing" he smiled

Avocato nodded, glad the other seemed to understand   
"I have left an envelope with money on my bed, you should use it on yourself and Little Cato while you two are out" he began, placing the papers down to look Gary in the eye as he talked, interrupting Gary before he could protest "you could use some new set of clothes, no?" He smiled knowingly 

Gary blinked, looking down at his bare torso, the only thing covering his top half were the bandages   
"Yeah...I guess so" he laughed, embarrassed "Thank you" he smiled softly

"No need to thank me" Avocato lift his hand in halt "It is only fair my son's babysitter has proper clothing- which reminds me..." Avocato hummed, eyeing Gary's hologram up and down for a little too long. He watched the human squirm after a while, clearly beginning to feel embarrassed by his gaze.

"Yeaaahhhh?" Gary pressed, hoping Avocato would continue instead of staring at his bare chest. He covered his stomach, being the part he was mostly self conscious about since he didn't get the chance to work on his body after he left the Galaxy One, the ship where he was sentenced to stay for 5 years.

"Right-" Avocato cleared his throat, disappointed in himself for staring "I do not want Little Cato to be with you and that dirty shirt so feel free to borrow any of my clothes" Avocato offered 

"Oh! A-are you sure?" Gary asked, feeling bad for using Avocato's belongings 

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure" Avocato gave a small smile, hoping it would make Gary feel better. 

"Well then...I appreciate it" Gary returned the smile, twice as big "Oh right!" He clapped his hands together "anything you'd like for dinner?" 

Avocato blinked in surprise, not expecting the question  
"Do not worry about me, your job is to take care of Little Cato" 

"Who really cares about his father- which means I have to take care of you too, general" Gary grinned.

Avocato sighed, lowering his head to the papers as he felt weird about the other calling him by his title- not a bad kind of weird though....  
"Salmon" came his simple reply, quickly hanging up before the human could say anything else.

Avocato sighed, putting the device away and turning back to the security cameras to watch the human as he completed paperwork. 

Gary stared ahead, blinking a few times before he grinned widely to himself  
"Salmon, huh...." he tapped his chin in thought, already planning dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gary really do be having sad boi hours erased by Avocato huh?💕🥺


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary leaves to get some things for himself before meeting with Little Cato

"Alright..." Gary hummed to himself as he eyed the closet with caution. Sure, Avocato had given him permission but that didn't mean Gary could go ahead and use whatever he wanted- Gary needed to think about the fact that these clothes were most likely expensive since Avocato was a well known general, not to mention some type of crazy fan could recognize the shirt right away or something...

Eyeing the closet filled with lots of turtle necks and boring plain clothes, Gary sighed- he had no right to be picky but....  
"Does this man know any fashion trends?" Gary groaned, sitting on the bed. He had planned leaving earlier to pick up his own things but at this pace he would just have to do it with Little Cato.  
"Whatever" he sighed, taking one of the many dull colored shirts Avocato had "at least it has some color" Gary pouted to himself as he put on the long sleeved shirt that just fell off his shoulder, revealing his bandages. Flapping the discolored green shirt's sleeves, Gay smiled with a nod and finally turned to leave, putting the money in his back pocket.

Lucky for Gary, there was a town clock around the area he was going, with it there he would be sure to get to the sushi place he planned to meet Little Cato at in time. Being the forgetful person he is, Gary had already prepared a list of items he needed most

"let's start with a wallet" he mumbled to himself, remembering the amount of times he had been mugged as well as mugged others who didn't have a wallet- its just easy target.   
Humming quietly to himself, Gary looked around the boring wallets. He wanted a cheap one that would last  
"this one will do" he nodded, picking a brown leather wallet and heading to pay for it. Just as Gary neared the till, he bumped into someone that was just slightly taller than him  
"Oh- Sorry" he smiled apologetically at the man before him.   
The man seemed to stop to look properly at Gary, looking him up and down with an unreadable expression that only made Gary more anxious.   
Swallowing hard, Gary remembered the time he had ventured into the bad side of the space station and how the strangers had touched him. Feeling uneasy, Gary quickly excused himself, paying for the wallet and walking out of the shop. 

"okay...its okay, Gary" the human tried to calm himself, a habit he picked up from having no one else to rely on "just breathe" he reminded himself, looking around and smiling lightly at the guards. Before, the guards were usually his enemy but at moments like these and after becoming Little Cato's babysitter, Gary found that he felt quite safe around them.  
Once he was calm enough,Gary proceeded to go get the next thing on his list, heading to a pharmacy. After his apartment and shop burned down, Gary didn't get the chance to take or get his pills which only made matters worse for him. 

Meanwhile, Little Cato was walking back from school towards his meetup place with Gary, a huge grin on his face. His day couldn't get better- first he was genuinely happy about waking up to somebody at home every morning, not mention Gary! His friend who is super affectionate, just what Little Cato needs (though he doesn't like to admit).  
Second, no one at school had picked on him- at least not as bad as before. Every time someone were to come towards Little Cato with any ill intention, Little Cato was far too happy to let any of their attempts to hurt him which only ended up in them embarrassing themselves.  
Now? Now Little Cato was going to hang out with his friend who is also his babysitter- not weird. This would be his first time hanging out with Gary outside after a while! 

Skipping to the front of the restaurant, Little Cato waited with a small, content smile. His ears were perked up at any noise he would recognize as Gary's and he swayed slightly with excitement e same way Gary would.

"thank you" Gary smiled politely as he left with a paper bag of his pills, sighing in relief.  
His smile was quickly erased when his eyes met up with pair of red ones. The same man standing he saw earlier was standing across he street, staring at the entrance of the pharmacy.   
Usually Gary would just shake it off as overthinking but the body language of the other did not convince Gary that this was coincidence. The stranger stood facing the shop, body rigid and his fists in balls in each side.   
Gary analyzed the red eyed alien. He was dressed in a sleeveless black turtle neck, some basic grey joggers and some wrist plates that were awfully familiar to Gary. If Gary were to describe him he would say it was a mixture of Wolverine and a werewolf that you would see in some teens romance novel. 

Wasting no more time, Gary began to walk away, glancing at the clock.  
"crap..." he whispered as he noticed it was time to meet Little Cato. Gary took a glance back, noticing the man following him boldly "men now a days have no shame" he shook his head, picking up his pace and walking a completely different direction than he had to.  
He could run from a general, he can run from this stranger. 

Once the crowd grew thicker, Gary began to run, taking sudden turns to try mislead the other. The stranger followed Gary, running after the human with the same unreadable expression.  
"okay" Gary panted, and continued to run, passing in front of the sushi place without noticing it himself. He was focused on losing the creep at the moment, whoever this guy was- he couldn't be good. 

"huh?" Little Cato watched his babysitter get chased by some random guy in the streets, no guards doing anything to stop this. Grabbing the straps of his backpack, Little Cato followed the two as stealthily as he could, trying to find a way to help Gary or figure out what was happening. However, after a bit of chasing the chase, Little Cato had lost them both.  
Pulling out his wrist band, Little Cato called his dad in hopes he would answer  
"of course" Little Cato huffed once he was sent to voice message. He allowed to let some time pass before finally sending the voice message

"Gary's being chased"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess you could say that men love to chase after Gary


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary is being chased- uh oh?

"how...is he-" quick footsteps were mixed along with the rest of the crowd's "so fast?!" Gary complained, still trying to lose this 'stranger'.   
Gary had many enemies back in his day, perhaps this was someone who he stole from but happened to forget? He wasn't sure- all he knew was that it had been a long time and he needed to lose this guy fast so he could meet up with Little Cato. 

Gary continued running, returning to the crowded areas and slowing down all the sudden and mixing in with the crowd, a good skill he had developed from stealing over the years. He risked a glance at the stranger, grinning once he noticed how lost he looked.  
Success.

Walking among the crown, however, Gary had managed to catch a glimpse of an equally lost someone. His grin grew wider   
"Spidercat" Gary called quietly, waving at the oh who was standing on a bench trying to look for him "sorry I am late"

"Gary! Are you okay? Who was that?" Little Cato was quick to fill the other with questions, running up to him an hugging his torso 

"woah woah" Gary hushed "lets go with code names for today, alright?" he winked, looking around and gesturing Little Cato to follow as he gently pushed the boy away- Gary wouldn't risk the kid getting mixed up in his own personal problems.   
Little Cato nodded, following Gary into a fund raiser clothes shop, lifting his brows in interest.   
"wanna pick my disguise while I pick a shirt I can wear?" Gary chuckled quietly, flapping the long sleeves from the shirt that was far too big for him.

"I got you, Thunder Bandit" Little Cato saluted away, running off to find Gary his disguise.  
Gary watched the other fondly, turning to go to the men's section and looking over the few choices as he took occasional glances around. A red shirt was quick to catch his eye, picking it up, Gary inspected the shit- it was his size, which was good, and it had a cute orange silhouette design of a cat in the middle, it was basically his old shirt but kittyfied.  
Nodding to himself, Gary walked across the shop to check on Little Cato  
"you found anything?" he asked curiously

"yeah!" Little Cato turned with some huge flashy glasses on and a series of items in hand "take these!' he handed Gary the items in his hand with a huge grin. Gary laughed in reply, taking no chances in checking what he was buying as he did not really care if it was as ridiculous as the glasses the boy wore

"you want those?" Gary asked with an amused smile, pulling out his wallet

"nah, I'm alright" Little Cato waved his hand, putting the glasses back "not really my style" he giggled.  
Nodding, Gary payed for his items and put the new shirt inside the bag with his previous purchases before walking out  
"alright, Spidercat" Gary turned with a grin, handing the boy the items "wanna play dress up?" 

"heck yeah!" Little Cato was quick to take the items, beginning to put some things on Gary, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Gary laughed, watching Little Cato reposition some things.  
"there!" Little Cato grinned proudly, watching Gary turn to the shop's window to examine.  
Gary blinked in surprise. He was wearing a black round hat with a white pin flower at the side, there was a long golden colored necklace that matched well with the green shirt and a black choker that matched with the hat.

"huh...." Gary turned to Little Cato, still surprised at his own change of image. Little Cato only grinned knowingly, huffing proudly

"you are errrm....Alex!" Little Cato pointed at Gary "you are super into gardening and love to drink coffee and read a good book on thursdays!" the boy continued 

"oh! oh!" Gary beamed "every thursday there is this guy- I mean girl- that works in the cafe I read books at, I have a crush on hi- her but as cool as I look...I am actually super shy" Gary joined in the backstory making, stumbling over his words every so often.   
Little Cato listened carefully, looking up at Gary with an unreadable expression.   
It was obvious Gary was gay now-

"Yeah! Sounds tight!" Little Cato cheered, taking Gary's hand "and I am the son of the woman that works in the café!" he picked a backstory for himself

"but doesn't everyone already know that you are Avocato's son?" Gary asked, allowing Little Cato to drag him

"oh yeah" Little Cato sighed, sad that he couldn't join in. Gary chuckled at the boy's disappointment, scooping him up

"alright child" Gary spoke in a British accent "lets get something to eat, why dont we? Where would you like to go?" he asked the boy who leaned against his chest and looked up at him in awe

"I want to go to that place we went to the other time, Ga- Alex" Little Cato bounced in Gary's arms, snickering as he used the fake name.

\------------------------------

"What is this supposed to mean?" Avocato paced in his office, listening to Little Cato's message on repeat.  
"Gary's being chased" the message repeated, Avocato could hear the groan and eye roll in Little Cato's voice from Avocato not answering the phone earlier and it was beginning to get on his nerves. Truth was, he knew what it meant as it was simple enough...Gary was being chased.  
The problem was that Avocato did not understand why he was genuinely worried now.  
Gary's blood on his bedsheets and the fresh cut across the human's back who wheezed in every breath from all the smoke he had breathed in, flashed in his mind.

"It will be hard to find another babysitter that Little Cato actually likes" he reasoned with himself, grabbing his uniform jacket and heading out in a hurry, following the location device that he placed in Little Cato's watch. 

Speed walking down the streets, Avocato tried to make it seem as if he wasn't in a rush, remaining with a cold face and as professionalas possible. He walked straight in the café, ignoring the stares as he walked straight towards a table Little Cato sat in. 

"Dad?" Little Cato breathed with suprise

"Where's Gary?" Avocato asked, glancing around "who was chasing him?" 

"Some weirdo- nothing to worry about" a British accent replied from behind Avocato "sorry if I worried you"

Avocato quickly span around to be face to face with Gary, taking a startled step back as he eyed the human. His eyes looked deep into the blue ones before travelling down to his neck which was accessorised with the black choker, bringing attention to his shoulders that were being revealed by the shirt he borrowed from the general.  
Avocato swallowed down the weird feeling that seemed to pop in his stomach  
"Whats with the accent?" Avocato lifted an eyebrow

"Gary- I mean- Alex is in disguise" Little Cato beamed, whispering the last part to his dad. Avocato hummed in thought, turning back to Gary

"Do you know who was chasing you? Can you describe him?" Avocato asked 

"Nope- no idea who he was or what he looked like" Gary lied on the last part, earning a weird look from Little Cato. Gary didn't want to risk losing the job by letting Avocato finding out about his past.  
Avocato cursed under his breath, not liking the idea that whoever was chasing Gary was still out there, not to mention the other who had nearly killed the man.

"What brings you here, general?" Gary asked with a soft smile, fidgeting with the necklace

"Little Cato sent a voice message, I came to check if you two were alright" Avocato checked his watch for any leads.

"Oh..." Gary smiled sadly, feeling bad for dragging the other out of work and causing trouble "well why dont you join us for a snack?" Gary invited, pulling a chair out.

"Ah- no I can't-" Avocato turned to Gary only to have a finger placed upon his lips, shushing him. He glared at Gary for being rude before noticing him gesturing towards Little Cato who was bouncing excitedly in his seat, hoping his dad would agree.   
"I guess...A small break wouldn't be so bad" Avocato sighed in defeat, smiling softly as he brushed Little Cato's hair back.

Gary pulled out a chair for Avocato, gesturing for him to sit with a playful bow, earning an eyeroll mixed up with an amused smile from Avocato. 

"Okay" Gary sat down in front of Little Cato "so we still need to buy dinner but after that lets go get some cool stuff for you" he changed the subject, making no effort to keep his accent as he spoke in a British accent when he was little to begin with.

"Why? I don't really need anything" Little Cato asked, looking over the options in the menu while Avocato remained quiet but seemed to agree.

"Your room needs....more Little Cato in it" Gary tried to explain "its too empty- doesn't feel like you" 

"So what? We are getting a new bed?" The boy lifted his eyebrow in question

"What? No!" Gary shook his head "I mean...lets get you some colorful bed sheets with cool designs or uuhhh.....some posters! I used to have many as a kid" Gary suggested, earning Little Cato's interest now

"Really? What kind of posters?" the kid leaned in with a grin

"Oh! I had posters of my favourite bands, some of spaceships-" Gary began listing "oh! And bugs! I loved my bug posters so much" Gary groaned sadly before sighing as he looked out the window "I also had a poster of my dad, of course" he added quietly "but mainly bugs!" 

The two Catos blinked at the sudden flicker of emotion they had never seen on Gary

"A poster of your dad?" Little Cato asked "Dont you mean a photograph?"

"I had photographs too" Gary chuckled, understanding the boy's confusion "all gone now though" he sighed, an empty smile sitting upon his lips as his eyes stared ahead sadly.

"Oh" Little Cato frowned while Avocato remained quiet, recognising that this seemed to be quite touchy subject for the human. However, Little Cato was just a child who couldn't read the mood  
"Did it get burned down?" Little Cato asked sadly, remembering Gary's apartment.

Then, as if a total different person was sitting before them, Gary changed. The man's expression fell into a haunting look as he turned to the window as if remembering something  
"Yeah...but it wasn't in the apartment" he replied quietly.

Avocato stared at Gary's reflection in the window, his blue eyes seemed to darken at whatever he seemed to be remembering. He opened up his mouth to try comfort Gary, not that he had to, he just felt the sudden need to see the man smile again....but nothing came out.

"My point is-" Gary snapped back, his usual self returning "you always wanted to leave your room before, right? That's because it probably isn't comfortable enough" Gary tried to explain "having nothing in your room kind of....doesn't feel like home sometimes" Gary continued, knowing the feeling.

Little Cato wanted to ask more about whatever Gary meant before but the moment the other pointed out his room, Little Cato gasped  
"Yeah! Yeah you're right!" Little Cato leaned over the table to get closer to Gary, impressed the other understood what he felt "youre saying that all it takes is some posters?" 

"What? No, no, Spidercat" Gary wagged his finger with a chuckle "it takes whatever you look at and think 'Woah! That would look dope in my room!'"

Avocato watched the two begin to talk about some ideas, a small smile forming on his lips. He was glad he got Gary as a babysitter as he was sure no one else in Tera Con Prime would have noticed such thing.

"Have you two picked what you'd like to eat?" Avocato asked, stopping their rambles before they grew any louder.

"I'm alright for now" Gary smiled "just came here for Little Cato" he sat back

"What? Eat something with us" Little Cato huffed, sitting back as well "wait! I know! We can do the thing we did the other time!" Little Cato suggested

"Other time?" Avocato asked, turning to Gary who only shrugged, trying to remember whatever the kit meant

"You know! The one where I get something and you get something that we never trued before then we share!" 

"Oh!" Gary chuckled, leaning in to rest his cheek on his hand "alright, what you wanna try?" 

"This one! It says its sweet and you like sweets" Little Cato pointed at a flashy looking pancake. Gary and Avocato leaned in, bumping shoulders as they did so

"Want to share as well?" Gary asked Avocato who backed away to sit properly once again.

"I am not much for sweets" Avocato declined politely 

"Then you pick one as well dad! One that you haven't tried yet" Little Cato handed the man the menu.

Avocato flipped through the menu, watching from the corner of his eye Gary and Little Cato scoot their chairs closer to look as well.   
His shoulder, that already hot from the earlier contact with Gary, seemed to burn as the human leaned against his arm, trying his best to get a look at the menu as well.   
All of the sudden, Avocato couldn't focus. All it took was a glance at the human before his eyes seemed to go straight for his popping collar bones and the revealing bandages on his shoulders. 

"Dad?" Little Cato looked up at Avocato, blinking in surprise as he noticed his eyes stuck to Gary who was cluelessly squinting at the menu in thought.

Avocato hummed, turning his head but his eyes remaining a second longer on Gary who was far too close anyone would usually be. Avocato was so used to people backing away that it was rare when someone so casually talked or even touched him.  
Once his eyes finally fell on his boy, Avocato noticed him staring curiously.

"Ermm" Avocato cleared his throat "Ill have this one I guess" he stood suddenly "I'll go order" 

"Nah! Its okay- Gary's- I mean...Alexandro's got this" Gary pointed to himself taking the menu and giving Avocato a wink, allowing the other to spend extra time with his kid.  
Avocato sat back down, feeling the warmth in his shoulder travel all the way to his cheeks, the same weird feeling in his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie- that was longer than usual-
> 
> (Btw- I'm uploading more here because on wattpad there are 22 chapters done and I want yall to catch up ^^)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio goes shopping a little uwu

"Dad? Dad!" Little Cato called, shaking Avocato back to reality "You're acting weird" the boy huffed.

Avocato looked around at the various items around him before looking down at his kid  
"What?" Was the only response Little Cato got from his father. Little Cato rolled his eyes in annoyance, first his dad is always busy with work and now that they are finally hanging out he's distracted.

"You've been acting weird since Gary fed you a piece of his pancake- you feeling sick? Need to go take a dump?" Little Cato asked casually 

"Little Cato!" Avocato scolded lightly mainly out of embarrassment, feeling his cheeks go warm again at the memory. 

\-------------------------

"Come on dad! We all tried a bit of each other's food, now its your turn! Here try mine!" Little Cato shoved some food into Avocato's face, forcing the general to eat. 

People around the cafe whispered and giggled at the cute father and child moment while Avocato sighed as he munched on his food, it seemed that being out with the two would always end up in an embarrassment. 

"How was it?" The boy bounced in his chair 

"Its..." Avocato gave some thought, unsure on what to say. Its just food right? Nothing special about it

"Okay! Now Gary's!" Little Cato was quick to interrupt, far too giddy to allow his father to answer. 

"What?" Avocato turned to his kit in disbelief, taking a quick glance at Gary "I can't do that- it would be rude" he declined, though his mind wondered (for some absurd reason) if Gary would feed him just as his child had done.

"Nah, no worries, general" Gary chuckled as he ate his own over the top pancake "I dont mind really" he shrugged, cutting a piece out and handing it out for Avocato, a hand under the fork as to not spill anything.

Avocato glanced at the offered food then back at Gary's soft smile that was quick to turn into a mischievous one

"Say aaaaah~" he sang playfully to which Avocato only stammered in attempt to scold the other.   
During his stutters, Gary managed to place the fork in Avocato's mouth, forcing him to be quiet.

Avocato's eyes widened as he froze in place, swallowing the food down in a go without any chewing from surprise. He watched Gary cut yet another piece out and eat it with the same fork he used to feed him.

"How is it?" Gary asked, unaware that what he had done would have been considered an indirect kiss

"Sweet..." was Avocato's only reply as he turned to look away, unable to meet the human's eyes.

\-------------------------

"Dad!" Little Cato stomped his foot, raising his voice as he noticed his father start to day dream about whatever again "Can you please focus right now? I'm trying to pick which of these two posters are cooler?" The boy lifted two band posters that he picked mainly because he recognised from Gary's CDs he used to play in the shop.

"Right" Avocato cleared his throat, trying his best to focus as his son had asked "why not both? Gary mentioned having multiple posters" 

Little Cato gasped, eyes widening as if his father were some kind of genius wizard before he threw the two posters in the cart.  
Avocati chuckled, messing the kid's hair and watching the other push his head against his palm with a small purr. 

"Where's Gary by the way?" The general looked around, noticing the human was missing. His tail flicked ever so slightly as he anxiously thought about the fact that the people who were after him were still out there.

"He went to the bathroom" Little Cato answered "its been a while though" he added, looking around as well, tail flicking behind him as well. Both Catos were beginning to worry.  
"I think I need the bathroom as well" Little Cato looked up at his dad, lying just so he could try look for Gary

"Yeah...Me too" Avocato muttered, pushing the cart off towards the toilets.  
The two hurried, leaving the cart outside to look around the toilets.

Every man that was peacefully doing their buissness, stared wide eyed at the two Ventraxians, quickly zipping up their pants and walking out as casually as they could. 

"Gary?" Little Cato called, walking in front of the only closed stall "you in there?" 

Just as the little ventraxian lifted his hand to knock, an old alien man left the stall. The stranger lifted a brow at the kit before waddling out the toilets.

"Ew...he didn't wash his hands" Little Cato pointed out in disgust.

The toilets were empty now, no sign of Gary.   
Standing in the empty bathroom only made the two Ventraxians more anxious, Avocato's face hardening as he pulled out his wrist device to see if there were any updates.

"Nothing" he muttered, scrolling at the many work notifications that he decided to ignore since it had nothing to do with Gary "lets go" he span around, marching towards the door and allowing Little Cato to follow.

As the two stepped out, they were met with Gary crouched in front of a crying child. He seemed to be performing some magic trick, pulling out a coin from the small alien's ears in hopes to cheer them up.  
Both Avocato and Little Cato sighed in relief, slowly approaching the two.

"Is something the matter" Avocato spoke professionally despite the alien being just a child, his hands were behind his back as he examined the situation. 

At the appearance of Avocato, the child gave a yelp and smashed their face against Gary's chest, trembling in fear of the general. Avocato felt his heart ache despite being used to such things.

"Oh! Its okay! This is just Avocato" Gary's hands waved around the child, unsure if he should pick them up.   
Avocato rose a brow- the words "just Avocato" being new to him. 

"Hang on-" Gary gave in, finally picking up the small alien that refused to let go "see? Just a big soft kitty" Gary pet Avocato's head, trying to show the kid that there was nothing to be afraid of.   
Avocato's body tensed as Gary casually pet him, he gave a low growl at Gary before it died down when Gary glared at him in warning to play along (though to Avocato it just looked like a cute little nose scrunch).

Avocato sighed, watching Gary take the child's small hand and reach towards his forehead  
"Meow" came his dead and annoyed tone as the alien pat him with big, curious eyes.

"Pfft-" Gary turned his face away so Avocato wouldn't see him holding back a laugh, though it was pretty obvious from the way his shoulders were shaking.  
Little Cato, on the other hand, laughed loudly, holding his stomach

"Zupo!" A female alien called with a worried face, the same race as the small alien in Gary's hands. She ran towards them before slowing down 

"Here" Gary smiled softly, handing the woman the child

"Thank you, thank you" she cried with a worried smile, hugging the child close "Im so sorry" she turned to Avocato as she realized who he was from the uniform 

"It was no problem at all" Avocato tried to smile for the sake of the child, giving a small nod. 

Gary watched Avocato's usually cold face smile softly at the two, huffing slightly as he realized he wasnt special and that everyone else got to see Avocato smile just as much as him. 

"Hey Gary" Little Cato tugged on the other's shirt once the woman had left 

"Hm?" Gary hummed, turning his attention to Little Cato with a smile. 

Little Cato stared at Gary with a comically annoyed expression   
"Meow" he spoke in a low voice, trying his best to imitate his father.

Gary froze as he stared at Little Cato, his whole body shaking in attempt to not laugh, there were tears in his eyes and the corner of his lips began to curl up. Gary cleared his throat, covering his mouth in attempt to hide his forming grin- though, as he covered his mouth, he glanced at Avocato who was wearing exactly the same expression as Little Cato's impression

"Oh my-" Gary broke down finally, going into a fit of laughter along with the small kit. 

Avocato watched the two laugh, rolling his eyes as his own lips curled up into a smile, his ears perking up at the sound of Gary laughing. 

"Okay- okay okay" Gary tried to breathe in between small giggles, his face flushed red from laughing which made Avocato wonder if all the other times the human's cheeks had turned red it was because of holding back laughter- it made no sense though...

"Back to buissness" Gary clapped his hands, giving a small pause as his eyes met Avocato's before laughing once again.

Little Cato snickered, proud that he managed to make Gary laugh with something so simple. The two took a while to calm down

"You two done?" Avocato folded his arms as he tapped his foot impatiently 

"Sorry- sorry" Gary's eyes were shut as he tripped up from the laughter and held onto Avocato's shoulders for support "sorry" he sighed between giggled, looking up at Avocato.

Avocato's hand were quick to fly to Gary's hips to catch him, his cold face falling to surprise at the unusual proximity with another individual that didn't include killing.   
His throat went dry as his eyes met with Gary's teary ones before they flickered to his mouth. He found that the human's smile suited his face best, after seeing him frown at the cafe like that he decided that he didn't like it. 

"Right" Avocato cleared his throat, feeling the weird feeling in his stomach return. He glanced down at his hands that fit perfectly against Gary's waist before finally pulling away "lets get back to it?" 

"Right- yeah...yeah let's" Gary replied, fidgeting with his hair as he didn't want to stretch out Avocato's shirt with his fidgets "what else you think would look cool in your room?" Gary tried to turn his attention back to Little Cato but the hot feeling of Avocato's furry hands remained still on his hips despite nothing being there.

"A gun!" The boy beamed, bouncing in place

"Maybe something kids your age usually have?" Gary laughed nervously

"A....smaller gun?" Little Cato tilted his head, now uncertain.

Gary sighed before smiling fondly  
"Come on, Spidercat" Gary gently took the boys hand and started walking down the many isles in hopes Little Cato would find something else he liked.  
Avocato felt himself smile as the two walked with their hands clasped, making small stops every so often when Gary gave a suggestion or when Little Cato really liked something.

"Oh!" Gary suddenly stopped, walking closer to a lamp "I used to have one of these as a kid" he smiled

"What is it?" Little Cato got on the tip of his toes to try get a closer look 

"Its basically a lamp that projects stars in the room! Used to help me get to sleep back then" Gary sighed happily at the memory of his father giving him the lamp as a gift before he left on one of his many missions- a habit he had formed, always giving gifts to Gary before he left.

"I want it!" Little Cato took the lamp, it seemed anything Gary used to have he wanted it as well

"Oh! Well alright" Gary laughed, smiling to Avocato who seemed to be staring at him.

Little Cato had gotten most things Gary listed he had, including some things he thought were cool himself or he saw that Gary had back in his apartment.   
He was going to make his room as comfortable as he could for both Gary and him so like that-

Gary would never have to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see you Little Cato- I see you


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some sweet wholesome chapter uwu

The smell of food filled the air as the two Ventraxians sat on the couch. It was unusual for the two to have someone cook for them- sure, Avocato cooked for his boy whenever he could but he was always far too focused on work to make something anywhere as good as Gary's food.

Usually, Avocato was more about survival, taste never mattered- food was food- but lately, he found that he quite enjoyed Gary's food.  
The human wasnt necessarily a good cook but he wasnt horrible either- he was average at cooking. The many years of living alone forced him to learn how to cook something as he had grown sick of the same disgusting food he'd make for himself- though...this wasn't about the taste for the Catos, it was about having someone actually do something for them without them asking them to do so. Gary was cooking for them because he genuinely wanted them to eat and stay healthy.

"Is it done?" Little Cato jumped up from Avocato's chest, where he was layed on, as he heard a plate being set down on the table, belly rumbling from the smell.   
Avocato sat up, equally as hungry, as he eyed the food being set.

"Salmon" he muttered, remembering the conversation he had with Gary

"Yep! Had to write it down or else I would've forgotten" Gary laughed, watching Little Cato rushed to the table as he tried to undo his apron. 

Avocato followed, trying his best to keep good posture even though he was hungry. He walked around to stand behind Gary and help him remove the apron 

"Oh! Thank you" Gary tilted his head back to smile at Avocato.  
Avocato only nodded quietly, finding the longer he looked into Gary's eyes the more of his oxygen they seemed to take away- quite literally like an ocean, he was drowning in them.

As Gary hanged the apron up, Avocato sat down on the table along with Little Cato, who was already digging in. He took a small bite of the food, ears perking up and tail gently swaying behind him.

Gary sat down with them, watching Little Cato's body language and then Avocatos and noticing they acted similar only that Little Cato seemed to be connected to pure energy while Avocato tried to mask it more. The human chuckled to himself, finding it adorable at how much the two looked like each other and at the fact that they seemed to enjoy his food.

"We should set up ou- my room right after this!" Little Cato suggested with his mouth full

"Little Cato" Avocato scolded lightly, taking a napkin and cleaning his mouth for him

"Sorry Little spidercat- its too late, you need to go to sleep" Gary replied 

"But tomorrow is weekend! I can go to sleep later!" The boy whined

"Exactly! Tomorrow is weekend so we can wake up early and do it well rested" Gary pressed, not wanting the kid to create bad habits

"Fine" Little Cato gave in with a groan, eating the rest of the food 

\----------------------

"What do you mean he's still alive?!" The sound of broken glass filled the room "you told me you killed him! You cut him up and burned him!"

"It appears he managed to survive" a quiet voice replied 

"Survive?....Survive?!" The other repeated "who in the bloody hell would survive that?!" Another crash of items being thrown about.

There was a pause in the room as a knock was heard, the door opening after

"Excuse me for letting myself in" a strong voice laughed "I would like to make a deal"

"Im in a bad mood- get out" the sound of a gun being drawn without hesitation 

"Please...I hate Gary just as much as you d-"

A gunshot interrupted the man  
"Do not compare my hate for that to yours" they sounded digusted and furious

"Of course" the man cleared his throat, the bullet having barely touched him "I hate Gary Goodspeed...I want him dead as well- however..." the man dared to walk closer "I want him to suffer before he does....you see he stole something away from me- something that would've sold for quite a lo-"

"Get to the point" they spat

"Right..." the man sighed "You provide me with the information and I will capture him, torture him then kill him" the man suggested with a mischievous smile "that is unless you guys want to kill him yourselves"

"Mantis will kill him- he will go with you" the voice pointed to the quiet man who stood at the side, giving a slow nod.

"What? The wolverine look a like? Sure thing- don't really matter as long as I get to see that little thief beg" the man laughed

"Good...whats your name" 

"Derek...the name's Derek" the man took out his hand for the other to shake "pleasure to meet the both of you" 

\-----------------------------

"Gary!" Little Cato sat ontop of the human, smashing his paws on his chest to wake him up "Gaaaaaryyyyyy"

"Im awake" came a groan from underneath Little Cato, Gary's eyes still closed

"Gary" Little Cato groaned as well "wake up!" 

A small chuckle was heard near the door, Avocato leaning against the door frame watching his son annoy the human that slept in the bean bag. He briefly wondered if it was best to get Gary a proper bed as it could cause more back pain than the human already had.

Despite the small boy trying to wake Gary up, the human only wrapped his arms around him and turned to snuggle close, clearly half asleep. 

"Gary!" Little Cato whined, trying to break free, beginning to purr quite loudly at the simple sleepy hug.

Avocato finally walked in, watching how the human cuddled his boy with a small smile before turning to look at Little Cato's puffing cheeks

"Dad! Help me" Little Cato whined between his purrs, enjoying Gary's arms around him

"No" Avocato grinned, a rare sight for anyone but Little Cato. Instead of helping Little Cato, he just turned to leave, taking a small glance at Gary before leaving.

Little Cato pouted in annoyance, unwillingly snuggling close to Gary.

"Warm..." came Gary's sleepy mumbles, a small smile present on his lips.

Little Cato laughed, taking out his phone and lifting it high to take a selfie of both of them- he had embarrassing photos of his dad he could have of his friend as well.   
Once he took the picture of the sleeping smiling idiot, he sent the picture to his dad and put his phone away, nervously cuddling close to Gary as well.

While Little Cato had started to drift off, Avocato was staring at his wrist device, zooming in of Gary's adorable face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avocato forgot to say no homo


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you wake up with your furry friend in your arms and go out to get some tape  
> Other times you don't   
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Gary woke up unusually late, eyes snapping open at the crazy dream he had.

A good dream...  
Not a nightmare.

He examined his surroundings to find Little Cato snuggled close to him and purring loudly

"Aww" he whispered to himself, petting the sleeping kit, remaining there a few longer minutes as he did not want to leave the warmth- it was far too rare for him to get moments like this.  
Sighing, Gary lifted up the kit and placed him on his own bed, allowing him to have a longer nap as it was weekend. 

"Well" Gary jumped at the voice behind him, turning quickly to see Avocato "look who's awake" 

Avocato leaned against the doorframe, he was wearing a tank top which was unusual for him as well as a playful smile on his face.   
Gary felt himself blush, tugging on the long sleeves of Avocato's shirt that he borrowed 

"Y-yeah...sorry about that" Gary chuckled, a little embarrassed "h-how come you're here?" Gary asked, eyes glancing over Avocato's biceps every half a second which made the other check of he had something on his shoulder.

"Decided to work at home today" Avocato replied, brushing his paw over his shoulder just in case he did have something. 

"Oh...okay" Gary nodded, now looking down at the shirt he borrowed to avoid looking at Avocato's arms- he hated to admit that he always had a weak spot for strong men (probably the desire to be hugged and protected for once instead of always standing up for himself).   
"I should uuuh....get washed and changed" Gary nodded, grabbing his bag from yesterday and awkwardly making his way out.

"Sure" Avocato moved out of the way for Gary, wanting to ask the other the reason behind his red cheeks but remaining quiet as he watched him leave.

Avocato sighed softly, walking over to his boy and deciding to wake him otherwise he'd probably not sleep tonight. He softly kissed the top of his head, smiling as he watched him stir before opening his eyes slowly

"Hi dad" Little Cato smiled sleepily 

"Hi son" Avocato smiled back "Gary's awake now, he's just showering" he told him, hoping that would excite the kid enough to wake him.  
Just as Avocato had expected, Little Cato instantly sat up with a grin, jumping off bed to grab the many bags of his new room decorations and throwing the things inside it on the bed, ready to be put into place.  
Avocato laughed, allowing Little Cato to do his thing as he went back downstairs to finish his paperwork.

"Hey Spidercat" Gary came in after a while, hand drying his hair. He chuckled as he saw how excited the boy seemed to get his room set up 

"Gary! Come on!" Little Cato pulled on Gary's new shirt

"Hold on! I need to put this to wash" Gary laughed, holding up the green shirt he wore that was probably covered in his sweat from running.   
Just as he held it up, it was taken away. 

"I'll do that" Avocato stood behind Gary, his chest against the human's back and arms around to grab the shirt- somehow looking as if he was giving the human a back hug.

Gary looked up at Avocato, face flushing as he stammered from suprise   
"Okay" Gary managed to squeak after stuttering far too much and making a fool of himself as Avocato walked away to put his shirt to wash.

Avocato took the chance to put other clothes to wash, thinking on how despite Gary having bought his new shirt (that seemed to fit him very well despite the odd Ventraxian face in the middle) the human was still missing some pair of pants- he'd have to wash those sooner or later.  
Once most clothes were in the washing machine, Avocato finally picked up the long sleeve shirt Gary had worn so he could put it with the others, pausing for a moment. His tail swayed behind him as he eyed the shirt, slowly bringing it closer to him before his face was hiding it.

There it was...the weird sweet smell the human seemed to carry. It was Gary's scent...

"Hey dad do you know wher-" 

BANG

Avocato closed the washing machine door suddenly, jumping away from it as he stared at his son  
"Y-yes?" He smiled embarrassed as his son only stared in surprise

"Uuuh....we need something to put up the posters...." Little Cato said a bit weirded out "you know like tape or something"

"Oh..." Avocato thought for a moment "I used it all up not long ago- I dont think we have any" 

"Aw.." Little Cato sulked, ears dropping before perking up again "oh! Oh! Can me and Gary go-"

"Yes you can" Avocato answered, placing his hand on his hip with a knowing smile

"Yes!" Little Cato fist bumped the air, running forwards to hug Avocato's torso "Thanks dad....Hey Gary!" The kit ran out, leaving Avocato smiling adoringly after him.

"Now..." Avocato pulled out his tablet as he headed towards his room "why do humans change color?" 

\-----------------

"What are we here for again?" Gary asked, looking around the crafts shop

"Tape" Little Cato sighed "like I said the past hundred times" he rolled his eyes, stopping his walk to watch Gary get distracted (again).   
Who was babysitting who? Little Cato wouldn't know 

Gary noticed the boy's annoyance and frowned, feeling bad for being unable to focus 

"Sorry, Spidercat...I forgot to take my pills today" he sighed, walking over and fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt.

"Pills?" Little Cato repeated, remembering the pills that Gary bought when they first met and the ones he took before his sleepover "oh yeah! What are those for?"

Gary stared, thinking it was quite obvious after the things he had done today (luckily it wasn't as bad as when he was younger though)   
"Uuuh...." Gary opened his mouth to (try) explain but found that he couldn't....or rather he didn't want the kid knowing- the reactions were never good...   
"Its nothing" Gary answered, walking past the boy to look at the glues section.

"Nothing?" Little Cato raised his brow before huffing- there's no way pills were for 'nothing'.

"Hey! Found the tape!" Gary smiled, taking a small tape in hand "you need anything else, Spidercat?" 

"No..." Little Cato sulked, wanting to know why Gary didn't tell him what the pills really were

"You sure? We could get some crafty stuff so we can play with after" Gary suggested, watching Little Cato's ears perking up

"Like what?" The kit asked quietly, still trying to sulk

"Like ermmm..." Gary looked around "painting? Painting a mug for your dad" Gary suggested.   
Just like that, Little Cato started bouncing with a huge grin on his face, the idea of giving his dad a present making him forget about the pills.   
Gary laughed, taking Little Cato's hand and guiding him to the glass paints and then grabbing a white mug for him

"All good?" Gary asked though what he meant was if Little Cato was still upset with him

"All good!" Little Cato grinned, taking Gary's hand once again and dragging him to pay for the items.

The woman at the till chuckled to see Little Cato's excitement, handing Gary the plastic bag. Gary nodded a tiny "thanks" before walking out.

"Gary Goodspeed" a voice called just as the human was going to take the kit's hand, making Gary quickly retreat in response as he turned around to see who called him by his full name.

"Hey" the man greeted lazily. The man wore a red bandana on his head, a white tank top over his bigger upper body and had a messy stubble on his face. He looked familiar...though Gary couldn't quite remember why.  
"Hanging out with a kid now?" The stranger gestured with his chin to Little Cato who stood a besides Gary.

Gary knows one thing...if this man was a good person he used to know then he would certainly never forgotten him so he lightly pushed Little Cato back in a way it wouldn't be too obvious.

"The kid needed help so I helped- just cuz he with me doesn't mean I know him" Gary's face hardned, his eyes softening only when he looked at the boy.

As the man scoffed, Little Cato stared at Gary- he wasnt used to seeing Gary this serious and he wondered if every adult could make themselves look tough all of the sudden like Gary and his dad did.

"Run along kid! Us adults gotta talk" the man spat which took all of Gary's strength not to glare at him for treating Little Cato so. 

Little Cato looked up at Gary, hears lowering, he didn't like the fact that Gary was acting as if they had never met. Holding the bag close to his chest, Little Cato watched Gary give a small nod, telling him to do as told.  
The boy was upset, Gary could see that, but he couldn't risk Little Cato's life for his own problems- for anything. 

Little Cato wanted to be mad though there were tears in his eyes as he huffed and turned to run away- 

Stupid Gary! What was his deal? Who was that guy? Was he too cool that he had to pretend not to know Little Cato? Was it because Little Cato was a kid?   
Did Gary lie about having no friends?

Did Gary lie?

Just as Little Cato turned the corner, he took a glance at the two- 

Watching the stranger pull out a gun and shoot Gary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are almost all caught up! I actually wrote two chapters today, I'll upload the other later ^^
> 
> Also! Merry whatever you celebrate!!


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary wakes up with a tummy ache

"Augh...damn" Gary groaned at the sharp pain on his lower right abdomen, blinking his eyes rapidly to focus on his surroundings. 

First thing Gary noticed around him was the familiar cold metal floors and the whirring sound of a ship.   
Why is it everytime Gary has anything to do with a ship it's something bad? 

Sitting up with a groan, the second thing Gary noticed was that his new shirt was missing and that there was a hole on the pained area

"Great" he mumbled to himself which sent him on fits of coughs.   
He placed a shaky hand on the gunshot wound and looked besides him, noticing now that he was in a cell. 

Gary tried to process everything, laying back down and closing his eyes.   
So.... Gary had a hole in his belly welly and was trapped inside a ship probably by that weird guy he probably knows but has no memory of.

It seems that lately men want him...

Want him dead that is.

"Sleeping beauty is awake" the man who shot him laughed as he walked in with three guards behind him.   
One of the guards was an ugly blue alien with some green drool while the other two were wearing their uniform helmets.  
From the two, wearing the huge helmets, one of them was far too short to which Gary assumed was a dwarf species of alien.

"Pfft" Gary began laughing "what are those two? Bobble heads?" He laughed despite his situation he was in, taking short breaks to cough in pain.

"Oh you think you're funny now, eh?" The man growled, gesturing to the blue alien.   
With a nod, the blue alien opened up the cell and forced Gary up, poiting a gun to his head.

"Lets see if you find this funny, Goodspeed" The man grinned "Dr Bluestein- do it" the man nodded, watching Gary stumble to his knees once Bluestein pushed him down

"Ow what the fu-" Gary glared at the blue alien before he whezed when the man booted him suddenly on his stomach. 

The smaller alien flinched, stepping forwards but was held back by the other taller one

"I told ya I'd get ya sooner or later, Gary" he grinned "now tell me where my diamond-"   
Bluestein cleared his throat

"I mean...our diamond is" 

Gary coughed a few times, lifting the back of his hand to clean his chin  
"Sorry- uuuh...who are you again?"

Silence set in, the man blinking in surprise.   
The human man glanced at the blue alien before looking back at Gary

"What the- its me! You stole a diamond from us- remember?" He barked "was blue and tiny-"

"Oh yeah yeah-" Gary nodded, remembering the diamond he stole right before he met Quinn "I lost it"

Silence again, everyone looking at Gary in disbelief.

"You lost....a diamond....an item worth millions....you lost it?" Dr Bluestein repeated in disbelief

"It's quite a funny story really" Gary chuckled, coughing a bit before he began to ramble "so right after you two were like chasing me all like 'I'm going to kill you! Raaagh!'- I hid in this bar place where there were lots of Infin-" 

Another kick, though this time to the face. 

"Augh! Would you stop that!" Gary groaned, sniffing as he felt his nose begin to bleed as well.

"Bluestein- you two" The man gestured for the guards to follow, Bluestein poiting a gun against his head

"Go on" he shoved Gary forwards, gesturing him to follow.

"So like....Daniel" Gary followed, trying to start small talk despite the circumstances 

"Im not Daniel!" The man span, screaming in his face

"Eric?"

"No! I'm- its- Ugh! It's Derek damn it!" Derek shouted, lifting his fist ready to punch Gary when Bluestein shook his head "right...." Derek huffed, stomping away.

Gary sighed, following after as he took occasional glances at his own wound.   
He couldn't run now, he was surrounded by people who would easily outrun him in his condition.

"Thats a pretty nasty wound" Bluestein ran a finger against Gary's back, making the other shiver at the touch- his back had become more sensitive after the cut.

"Yeah- feels nasty too" Gary spat, disliking the touch from a stranger 

"Here we are" Derek interrupted them, gesturing Gary to a chair.   
Bluestein, smashed the gun against Gary's back, making him yelp as he fell forwards towards the chair.

The room was round and vast, a single chair in the middle as many items were scattered around- items that could only be used to hurt.  
At the end of the room, stood the man that had chased Gary the other day. He was wearing tight black clothes and the same metal plates, a helmet in hand.

The same helmet as the man that had burned down Gary's apartment. 

"You guys wait outside, I'll deal with him" Derek laughed as he walked to get cuffs for Gary.

"Come on" Bluestein turned his back to Gary to shoo the two guards away who seemed against leaving and whispered among eachother "You can watch the show from outside"

Gary's eyes wouldn't leave the man who slowly put on the helmet. Things finally clicking together.

Gary was in no condition to do so....but if he didn't he'd certainly die.

So Gary took the chance while Dr Bluestein and Derek were looking away, grabbing the chair and taking Derek's gun from his back pocket.

"Hey!" Derek shouted as Mantis got into position to chase. Just as Mantis was about to jump forwards Gary threw the chair and shot Derek's leg, making a run for it.

"Oh no you don't-" Bluestein snapped the gun towards Gary who grabbed it without hesitation with his metal hand, turning the gun just enough so when the laser went through his metal hand it wouldn't hurt him.

"Dont look so blue" Gary grinned, twisting Dr Bluesteins hand behind his back and poiting the gun to his head.  
"Move" Gary ordered, his tone cold towards the two guards as he pressed the gun closer to Bluestein's head.

The two guards got into a fighting stance, leaving Gary to try think of another solution- there's no way he could take both of them without the element of surpris-

"Ah!" Gary screamed when he saw Mantis' shadow behind him in the reflection of the windowed doors, quickly jumping away from the fire that shot out of the metal plate.   
His eyes widened as Bluestein stood and Mantis made his way to him with the same knife that cut his back in the other wrist plate. The two guards charging foward as well.

Time seemed to slow down as Gary's eyes scattered around the room, falling on the vent behind him. He quickly shot the vent and kicked it open, shooting Bluestein in the head as he crawled inside.

He did tell the other guys to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are all caught up with all the chapters on wattpad  
> Now when I write a new one you'll get it at the same time- yayyy


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato gets his dad

Little Cato didn't know what to do when he saw the man lift the passed out Gary like a sack of potatoes and carry him into the dark alleyway, he just knew he was scared for his friend as he stared wide eyed at the puddle of blood that was left behind.

"Dad!" Little Cato dropped everything at the door as he rushed to his dad who was sat on the sofa "Dad!" He screamed again, jumping to hug his torso.

Avocato's eyes widened at the way his boy's voice cracked in distress, quickly dropping his book and hugging the trembling kit close.  
"Its okay...its okay..." Avocato hushed, trying to calm his child.

"No! No its not-" Little Cato tried to catch his breath, a pool of tears forming in his eyes "Gary- he's-" the boy sobbed, nuzzling closer to his dad.

Avocato felt his heart drop hugging his child closer at the mention of Gary  
"What happened?" He asked 

"A weird man...Gary told me to go home and I was going to but then the man sh- shot him" Little Cato tried to explain. 

Avocato was quick to act, sitting the kit besides him properly and typing on his wrist device  
"I need you to stay strong for now, son...okay?" Avocato placed a hand on his boy's shoulder, squeezing it lightly 

"Okay" Little Cato sniffed with a nod, rubbing his teary eyes 

"Okay...Can you describe him?" 

\--------------------------------

There he was before Avocato's and Little Cato's eyes, Gary layed down on the floor with his eyes closed.   
Avocato could tell what anyone's thoughts would be at a moment like this, if it wasn't for Derek's laughter, announcing Gary was awake, the two would've certainly thought he was dead.

The two watched Gary sit up with a wince, the hole in his stomach being covered by the human's blood stained and trembling hand being the first thing they noticed.  
Avocato felt a tiny growl escape from his throat, the man who had done this was right besides him, ordering him around and Avocato couldn't do anything- not yet....he needed to know why these men were after Gary.  
He needed the source of the problem.

Avocato held back Little Cato, watching Gary get kicked right in his open wound. He tried not to squeeze his son's shoulder too hard from the anger that was building up inside him. 

Avocato's ears flicked up in interestrest at the mention of a stolen diamond.

So Gary was a thief....  
That man seemed to be full of surprises.

"I lost it" Gary answered their question simply.

Avocato bit the inside of his cheeks, was this man an idiot? Couldn't he have made some dumb excuse for the diamond instead of so plainly telling the truth?   
It took everything in Avocato not to laugh at the situation-

"That's a pretty nasty wound" Dr Bluestein ran a finger over Gary's bare back wound, they must've removed the bandages.

"Feels pretty nasty too" Avocato watched Gary arch his back before glaring at Bluestein.

He found that he quite disliked the man touching Gary's back in such a way.

Once they all had arrived to the room, it was quite obvious what was going to happen to Gary.  
He was going to be tortured.

Avocato glanced at Little Cato quickly, unsure if he should really be here anymore. The boy had insisted on coming and making sure his friend was alright but it was a dangerous mission for a child...Avocato didn't know if Little Cato could handle seeing his friend tortured...  
Neither did he think he could handle seeing Gary anymore hurt, himself.

The two flinched when there was a gunshot, watching Gary move fluidly as he held Derek's gun in hand.  
Avocato had been caught by such surprise that he didn't even move when Gary had grabbed Bluestein's gun so easily with a cocky smirk on his lips as he said his dumb pun with that dumb face

"Don't be so blue" Gary grinned, obviously having prepared that and happy to finally use the pun.  
The thing that pissed of Avocato the most was that he thought the human did actually look cool while doing so.

"Move" Gary ordered with a cold gaze at the two, just as Avocato was about to do so he noticed the man in the back, who he learnt to be names Mantis as he was disguised, charge towards Gary.

The Ventraxians quickly got ready to defend Gary as he yelped and dodged just in time.   
As the human scrambled away, Avocato took the chance to charge fowards and attack Mantis just before he did attack Gary, watching Bluestein get shot in the head.

Avocato never thought Gary had it in him...it only made him a better babysitter as Avocato now knew the human could defend and kill.

"After him!" Avocato pointed to Little Cato, giving Mantis a spinning kick.

Little Cato nodded, pulling off his helmet to crawl in the vent. 

"Gary?" The boy called, catching a glimpse of the human just before he turned another corner.

"Gary!" Little Cato called once again, finally getting Gary's attention 

"Little Cato?" Gary turned around, panting slightly from the heart attack he got "what are yo-AH!"   
Gary fell, having stopped just ontop of a ceiling vent and crashing on the ground.

"Gary!" Little Cato shouted, looking down to check on his friend. It was quite a fall, Gary was groaning on the floor as he tried to roll and sit up   
"hang on! I'm coming" Little Cato shouted after him, crawling through a different vent to get down safely.

Little Cato arrived to Gary saying every curse word the boy had yet to hear. The human held his metal arm that had a hole in its palm and seemed to spasm at random times.

"Are you okay?" Little Cato asked with worry, noticing the tears of pain in Gary's eyes 

"Yeah- just fine" Gary groaned, standing up and nearly tripping right away if it wasn't for Little Cato helping him stand "just-" he took a moment to breathe, the throbbing pain catching up with his adrenalin.  
Little Cato looked around for anywhere Gary could take a rest, his fur fluffing up from the occasional sparks from Gary's other arm. He didn't whine, Gary was carrying that arm connected to his bare skin and was in much greater pain than the tiny sparks Little Cato managed to catch.

"I fell on my back- my arm got bent the wrong way" Gary tried to explain, limping along side Little Cato "pulled on my shoulder" he groaned, his hair becoming more messy from the electricity. 

"Dont talk" Little Cato hushed, afraid Gary would use all his strength. The boy noticed Gary's metal arm seemed to be falling off at the top of his shoulder, revealing red marks from where it was connected as well as some wires.

"There" Gary pointed with his normal arm at a seat. Little Cato didn't think it was safe for them to sit in the open but there wasn't anyone around and Gary looked tired so he nodded and helped Gary sit.

"Okay, Spidercat" Gary took a deep breath "see this red wire here? I need you to cut it- should stop all these tics and sparks" Gary explained "just be careful not to hurt yourself"

Little Cato nodded, pulling out a knife from his boot and tugging slightly on the wire. Gary groaned in reply, making Little Cato flinch away

"Its all good- don't worry" Gary tried to smile "the wire is just connected to the nerves" 

Little Cato nodded, swallowing down his fear and reaching over again. He tugged on the wire again to bring the knife under it

"Cut away from you" Gary held his breath as Little Cato nodded yet again and swiped the knife, cutting the wire with ease.

Gary sighed in relief, turning to look at his arm for a few moments  
"I can't move it" Gary smiled, glad at least some pain was gone "I can't move it" Gary repeated as he began to notice that he wouldn't be able to defend himself or Little Cato now.

"We should get moving" Little Cato reached over for Gary before he heard the door behind him close and Gary's face grow cold.   
Nervously and slowly, the kit turned around to find Derek holding onto his wounded leg as he glared at the two.

"Goodspeed" Derek growled

"Derek" Gary spat the man's out as if it were poison, forcing himself up as if it was easy and he wasn't probably dying.

Little Cato looked between the two before getting in his own fighting stance, he would t let that man hurt Gary again.

"Little Cato" Gary's voice was serious in contrast to his usual soft tone "do not get more involved than you already have" Gary warned, pushing Little Cato back with his human hand to defend him.   
Little Cato looked up at Gary, there was no way Gary could fight with that man in such condition, it was something anyone could tell. He took Gary's hand, making the other look down at him finally

"Gary" Little Cato frowned and shook his head "there's no way you'll win" 

"Maybe I won't...but I will buy you enough time to run" Gary's face softened at the sight of Little Cato, smiling warmly at him.

Little Cato stared at Gary before finally nodding  
"Okay..." Little Cato breathed "I'll get dad- just hang on"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The guards were Little Cato and Avocato?? Wow! So not obvious!!


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary fights against Derek

Avocato hissed as the blade managed scratch his arm as he dodged out of the way, quickly falling backwards to mislead the enemy before flipping his legs and using the momentum to get up without using his arms. He swang his claws at the other's chest before kicking him away.

Mantis, who's fire wrist plate had been broken long when the fight had started, stopped his movement and stared at the man who still wore an helmet. Whoever was under the disguise was a skilled fighter.

Avocato widened his stance, ready to defend if the other were to attack but instead Mantis only dug in his pocket and brought out a small ball.  
Squinting at the ball, Avocato tried to figure out what it was as it was lifted in the air and smashed to the ground

"Ugh-" he flapped his arms as smoke clouded his vision "smoke bomb" he mumbled to himself, remaining in his battle stance in case Mantis took the chance to attack since he was at disadvantage...

But Mantis never came.

"Ran away" Avocato clicked his tongue, now standing properly as he looked around the empty room, his eyes falling on the many torture items around before turning to the door as he heard quick and light footsteps heading towards him

Little Cato's lonely training was finally being put to test.   
He stealthily crawled in the vents and sneaked around the guards without being noticed once. The boy would've had a proud smile as he ran towards his father...if it weren't for the fact that Gary was 'fighting' alone.

"Dad!" Little Cato rushed in, hugging Avocato's torso 

"Where's Gary" Avocato noticed the absence of the other, removing his helmet with a growl

"He..." Little Cato didn't know how to explain "come on" he instead gestured for the other to follow. He'd explain what happened as they made their way there.

"Come on man" Gary huffed, swiping his hand over his bleeding nose "you're really going to do all this for a tiny diamond?"

"This isn't about the diamond anymore, Goodspeed" Derek's heavy boots made their way towards Gary.

Gary was struggling to keep his balance- heck, the man was struggling to even stay awake at that point.  
His body had some bruises here and there as he changed the weight to each foot to keep himself moving.

"Then what the hell is this about" Gary muttered to himself, beginning to get salty.

Derek charged foward, his fist lifted high, ready to swing at Gary. The man had beaten the other by attacking his weak spots, managing to reopen the almost healing wound on his back more after he noticed small specks of blood on it when Gary had fallen from the ceiling.

Gary wasn't doing to good on his part, then again he never was to begin with so he wasn't far too worried.

If Gary knew anything that he learnt in the streets was that you gotta work your way around things and use your surroundings- sadly, Derek was from the streets as well

"The fu-" Gary groaned as the other pulled a knife instead, he probably thought it was the time to just end the fight.

The two Ventraxians arrived just in time to see Gary barely dodge the knife to his throat and fall on his back- a big no no in Gary's book.

Derek was much heavier and stronger than Gary, giving such person to not only punch but pin you down will put you in your grave quicker.

Luckily, Gary was an asshole.

Just before Derek was about to sit on Gary to keep him down, Gary bit his lip to hold back any yelp of pain on his back as he rolled on it and kicked Derek right in his two tiny diamonds before rolling back to his feet and getting up to headbutt his chin.

"Yowch- bet your future kids felt that" Gary grinned as he watch Derek give a loud groan of pain as his balls were kicked before he bit his tongue when Gary had headbutted him.

"You son of a-" Derek cursed, stumbling back. Gary span around so his dead metal arm slapped him in the face "you fuc-" Gary slapped him with the other hand.

Was Gary interrupting him on purpose? Absolutely.

However, that wasn't just it. Gary knew that if he gave the other any chance to strike back then he'd be a goner.

Little Cato watched Gary casually pimp slap Derek, his eyes wide at the human who he thought would be dead by the time they arrived.

Gary stumbled back to create enough distance between him and Derek when he noticed Derek was ready to block his attacks now. He reached down to the floor before he managed to cartwheel fowards and land his legs on Derek's shoulders, sitting on his shoulder and tightening his legs around his neck to strangle him. Gary pulled on Derek's hair to try mislead him more as his thighs strangled the man

"Gosh- I wish that was me" Avocato mumbled quietly to himself, earning a weird look from his son "beating up Derek of course" the other added quickly.

"Agh-" Gary yelped in pain as the other started smashing his back against a wall, ending up in Gary smashing his wounded back as well "this is...fine" he bit his lip to hold back anymore cries. 

Derek, didn't give up, he could just pass out and let it all go- but no! He had to just make life harder for Gary. 

"Dad...shouldn't we go help him" Little Cato looked up at his dad, he brought him hoping he'd save Gary but it turns out he was more mesmerised by the blond.

Gary let a loud cry of pain when Derek smashed harder against a no so good spot. The shout turned into a battle cry as Gary bit Derek's ear now, nearly tearing it off.

"Right" Avocato cleared his throat, disliking how the human seemed to be in pain (but quite liking seeing him fight).

Derek managed to throw Gary to the ground, cursing him as he stepped on his chest and applied pressure to stop Gary from breathing.

Gary tried to claw at Derek's legs, he was now pinned down so he was most likely going to die.

At least he bought enough time for Little Cato to run away...

"Excuse me" Someone tapped on Derek's shoulders "but that's my son's babysitter" the one and only general Avocato stood there, turning to kick Derek right in the face. 

Gary gasped for air when Derek fell off him, holding his chest as Little Cato rushed in to help him sit up. 

Little Cato gasped as his paw was covered in blood, only now noticing that Derek had managed to open Gary's healing wound far more than he should've. Gary, on the other hand, stared at Avocato as he began to beat up Derek with a grin- clearly enjoying beating the crap out of the man.

"Oh wow- that's hot" Gary nodded to himself 

"What?" Little Cato and Avocato turned to Gary who had said that a bit too loudly 

"Dont mind me- keep it up" Gary gave Avocato a thumbs up, his blood loss giving him shame loss as well.

Little Cato frowned as he helped his friend up, watching him struggle to stand properly. He nuzzled lightly into Gary's left side of the torso as to not hurt the wound on the other side. 

Gary watched the fight a little longer, his vision becoming more fuzzy. The moment Avocato had killed Derek, Gary didn't even turn to look at the dead man, his eyes were far to focused on the Ventraxian.

"Alright" Avocato cleaned his hand with some cloth "Let's go, my soldiers shall be arriving soon to bring this ship down" he announced, now noticing his son trying to help Gary stand.

"You lead the way" he nodded to Little Cato, taking Gary's good arm around his neck as Little Cato began to run and show them the way out. 

Gary limped along Avocato's pace, trying to keep up with the two as he winced every so often in pain.   
Then, just to make things harder for the human, an alarm started blaring red around the ship, the guards now noticing the absence of their leaders and victim.

"Great" Gary grumbled to himself while Little Cato's ears lowered in worry. 

"If every guard is going to be out it will be to crowded to go out this way- they'll find us right away!" Little Cato whisper yelled with worry

"Show us to the airlock then" Avocato ordered to which his kit nodded and changed his way.

Avocato noticed Gary's pain with a frown, he really didn't enjoy seeing the other on the nearly in tears from every step he took. 

"You're too slow" he commented as he swiped Gary up, bridal style. 

"Ah-" Gary yelped quietly in surprise. He puffed his cheeks, ready to disagree   
"I'm sorry" he sighed instead, knowing fully well he couldn't walk any faster and that this was a better way for them all. He was holding everyone back.

Avocato frowned, bringing the human closer as he began to jog after his son

"We're here" Little Cato looked down once the airlock had opened 

"Alright-" Avocato fixed his grip on Gary "jump" he nodded to Little Cato who did as told and jumped down.

"Woah woah woah!" Gary's eyes widened, he was used to jump from roof to roof or ship to ship but letting someone else do it was a completely different story "You're not actually going to-"

Avocato rolled his eyes, jumping as Gary talked. He smiled lightly as the human yelped and wrapped his arm around Avocato's neck, hiding his face in the Ventraxian's neck.  
Avocato quite liked when Gary was this close to him, he liked the warmth and the feel of the human's bare skin against him.

The two landed on a ship, Avocato pulling up the top window of the ship to enter inside it with Little Cato.

Despite already being in safety and the soldiers already attacking the other ship, Gary didn't seem to let go when Avocato entered his own spaceship. Instead, Gary nosed closer to the crook of Avocato's neck, not wanting to look at whatever was happening and feeling far too tired to deal with anything.

Little Cato had expected his dad to drop the human there or at least place him on a chair- what he didn't expect was when his father casually sat down on the pilot's seat with Gary still hugging his neck and now sat on his lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They forgot to say no homo, bro


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary finally wakes up

Gary had woken up in a medical pod, still feeling rather dizzy and sick. He tried to sit up only to collapse right away, his breathing shallow and forced as his whole body seemed to ache.

He tried to focus anywhere with his blurry vision when he heard mumbles around him, squinting with a look of confusion as he tried to focus. 

"Gary" a familiar voice called, reminding the human his name

"Hmm?" Gary hummed in reply, everything was cold and Gary was growing more tired than ever

"You have low blood pressure and have lost a lot of blood" the voice explained the human his situation from outside the pod

To Gary, however, it sounded as if the voice was far far away from him, so he reached for the window of the pod and tried to push it open with the little strength he had

Avocato frowned at the human, opening the pod for him and examining the many bruises that seemed to form on his body only now. He gently took Gary's cold clammy hand in his to guide his eyes to it, holding it close to his chest

"Is there anything you need?" He asked as he watched the human try focus on him, eyes crossing every so often as Gary struggled to stay awake. He brought his other hand to wipe the sweat off the human's pale forehead, Gary sighing contently at the warm touch with a hum.

Avocato wouldn't lie, he had grown a soft spot for the human- though it was a very small spot....the size of a fly.   
Gary had taken good care of his kid and clearly has gone through some things he still had to reveal to Avocato. Though, after Little Cato had told him that Gary had stood up against Derek without being even able to move his robotic arm just so Little Cato could get away, Avocato grew some kind of respect for the human.

"Sweet..." Gary mumbled weakly

"What was that?" Avocato leaned closer, ears stood attentively to try hear the human

"I want something sweet" Gary mumbled again, eyes opening slightly to look at the dark blur before him.

Avocato stared into Gary's hazy azure eyes and nodded  
"Alright...anything in specific?" He asked, watching Gary's eyebrows furrow cutely as he tried to understand his question 

"Cookies" was his short reply with a tired smile

"Got it....wait here, okay?" Avocato brushed the hair off Gary's forehead that seemed to stick due to the cold sweat, smiling softly as the human used the last of his strength to lift his head against Avocato's big hand, asking for more head pats.

Avocato sighed, pulling away despite Gary's whines and closing the pod once again   
"I'll be right back" he informed the other "get some rest" 

Gary sighed once the mysterious warm shadow walked away from his field of vision, frowning to himself as he allowed his eyes to close. 

\------------------------------

"Why do you have cookies?"

"Gary asked for them"

"Gary was awake? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"It was late and you looked adorable"

"Daaadddd"

Gary's eyes fluttered open at the voices nearby, looking around before reaching for the window above him. He felt nauseous and needed some fresh air.

"Gary? Gary!" Little Cato cheered, smashing his face against the glass "are you okay?" 

Gary flinched at the loud thud eyes widening slightly as he tensed, somehow expecting another beating.

"Little Cato" Avocato pulled the kit back, noticing the spike in Gary's heartbeat monitor "you scared him...talk to him slowly and softly so he understands you"

"What?" Little Cato frowned, looking at the monitor as well "okay...sorry Gary" the boy's ears dropped "You're okay...don't worry" 

Avocato smiled, watching his son try calm down the human as he kept an eye on the monitor

"It seems he has calmed down" Avocato placed the cookies on a nearby table, opening the pod.

To the two Ventraxians surprise, Gary managed to sit up only his eyes instantly rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed side ways, nearly falling out of the pod if it weren't for Avocato catching him

"Careful Gary!" Little Cato gasped, trying to help his dad put Gary back in the pod

"Out..." Gary breathed, making some unreadable gestures as his eyes remained closed "outside..."

"You want to go outside?" Little Cato asked, trying to understand, tilting his head when Gary nodded

"Air-" Gary tried to explain through his short breaths, his head hurt so much and he felt as if there wasn't enough oxygen in the room, making his chest ache

"Fresh air" Avocato understood right away, picking up Gary and walking out of the small room where the pod was. 

Gary leaned against the shadow's soft chest, eyes opening slightly as he felt the cool breeze from the outside. He shivered slightly and nuzzled closer to the warmth of the fuzzy shadow, taking in deep breaths and feeling the headache die down.

"I'll go get him some water" Little Cato whispered to his dad from the door before running back in.

Avocato stared down at the human that rest in his arms at peace, not an ounce of fear despite the general having killed a man with his bare hands right before his eyes...  
Once he noticed the sleeping human grow colder and his skin paler as he shivered, Avocato brought him closer to warm him and walked back in. 

"Is he okay?" Little Cato asked, holding a warm cup of milk and a cup of water

"Yeah...don't worry" Avocato smiled softly, walking back in the room and placing Gary in the pod.  
Little Cato placed the two cups on the table besides the pod, looking in at his friend with a worried frown before he yawned

"Tell me when he wakes up again?" Little Cato looked up at his dad, knowing his dad would keep an eye on Gary as he hadn't left the small medical room ever since the human passed out.

"Sure" Avocato smiled and kissed the top of Little Cato's head goodnight. He watched his son leave the room, glancing in with a final small wave before he went upstairs.  
Turning back to the human in the medical pod, Avocato pulled out the same chair he sat in the past few days.

"Don't leave me..." Gary's voice echoed in Avocato's head. Little Cato had fallen asleep in the ship and Avocato needed to go back to get him after he placed Gary in the pod.  
The Ventraxian didn't know what to say as the human tugged on his sleeve weakly, his welling eyes taking Avocato's attention away. 

When Avocato had noticed he had wasted too much time staring at the human on the brink of tears, he quickly shook his head- trying to focus at the task at hand.

"I won't take long" he placed his hand over Gary's, noticing how small his hand was compared to his. Slowly, he removed his hand from his arm and rushed out to get his son as quickly as possible.

When Avocato had come back, he heard a sound that seemed to grab his heart and rip it to pieces.  
The sound of Gary crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAH! GAYYY


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato wakes up to the smell of bacon and the sound of an angel singing~ wonder who that is?

Avocato wasn't used to having dreams or nightmares for that matter- he usually didn't remember any as he'd wake up and think about work right away.  
However he had woken up from a very vivid dream about his ex wife. 

He gasped softly as his eyes snapped open, sighing in relief as he reminded himself that woman was gone and it was nothing but a dream.

Avocato's attention was taken to the blanket on his shoulders to keep him warm. He smiled softly as he stood and folded the blanket before he noticed the medical pod was empty

"Gary-" he gasped, dropping the folded blankets on the chair and rushing out. 

There were pancakes on the table and a smell of bacon in the air, the sound of soft sizzling as well quiet singing along with it.

Avocato slowly walked into the kitchen to find Gary cooking the bacon as he lightly swayed side to side. 

"I don't want to set the world on fire  
I just want to start...a flame in your heart" Gary sang softly, placing the bacon on a plate.

Avocato smiled to himself in relief, glad the other seemed to be alright now. He examined Gary's scarred and bruised back. Despite lacking his other arm, that Avocato had to remove do he could heal properly, Gary still cooked well- sure, you could see he was struggling, but he managed.

"In my heart I have but one desire...  
And that one is you- AVOCATO!" Gary screeched as he turned around and realized the other was standing there

"Hey" Avocato greeted with an amused grin, watching Gary's face turn red.

Avocato had done some research and there were many reasons a human could change color- however he knew at that moment that Gary was embarrassed 

"H-hey?" Gary took the plate of bacon and made his way out the kitchen to place it on the table "what are you doing up?" 

"I could ask you the same thing" Avocato walked behind Gary, swiping his finger over Gary's scar just as Bluestein had done.  
Gary arched his back with a soft gasp, quickly turning and using the table behind him for support as he stammered, his face growing more red. 

To Gary, Avocato was acting weird. He was smiling more and seemed to be alright with proximity- not to mention, he was the one to uproach Gary first.

"You're still hurt, are you not?" Avocato asked, eyeing Gary up and down as his eyes settled on the gunshot wound that was still healing.

"W-well...I was getting sick of laying down and not helping" Gary replied, standing properly now as he tried to cover his stomach self consciously 

"That so?" Avocato hummed, taking Gary's arms in his hands so he could inspect the wound properly. He looked at the wound before his eyes trailed down hungrily Gary's V line.

"A-Avocato?" Gary stuttered out nervously, leaning back against the table to try get away from his gaze. 

"Right" Avocato finally let go as he realized the other's discomfort, stepping back to look properly at Gary's red face "You're probably cold, I'll grab you something to wear" 

"Oh! T-thank you?" Gary watched Avocato walk upstairs, gripping onto the table for support once again.   
Once Avocato was out of his vision he covered his red face with his hands, his shoulders beginning to turns red as well. 

"He was just checking on you" Gary told himself, though that only brought a grin to his face that was hidden by his hands "he was checking on me..." he giggled to himself, genuinely happy the other seemed to care about him.

"What am I doing" Avocato sighed once the door shut behind him, leaning against it as the image of the embarrassed human under his gaze wouldn't leave his mind.

He tried to gather himself and made his way to the closet, looking for warm clothes for the human as he had no fur to keep him warm. 

"I wonder what he'd look like in this..." he hummed to himself, beginning to stray from his objective to keep the human warm as he held up a tank top instead. He decided that if Gary was cold he could just grab some blankets for him later.

"Dad?" Little Cato knocked on the door before he entered the room "thanks for making breakfast- you didn't have to" the boy smiled with his school bag on his back, he knew his father was tired from watching over Gary

"Oh...that wasn't me" Avocato walked towards the door with a knowing smile, watching Little Cato process his words before running down the stairs

"Gary!" Little Cato cheered as he saw the human, dropping his bag and jumping to hug him.

"Woah!" Gary caught Little Cato just in time, wincing before grinning big at the kit "hey there spidercat!" 

"Gary!" That seemed to be the only thing Little Cato could say at the moment as he purred loudly and headbutted Gary's neck lightly before nuzzling in. 

"That tickles-" Gary laughed lightly, smiling down at the kit before he gasped "thats right! What were you doing there? That was very dangerous!" He put the kit down and scolded him, only getting a whine as Little Cato reached to hug Gary once again.

"He insisted on coming to help you" Avocato smiled as Gary sighed in defeat and picked up Little Cato once again despite his wound.

"Well...in that case..." Gary sighed before he held Little Cato up high "my hero!" He span around with him in hand, grinning as the other giggled. 

"Dad was more heroic than me" Little Cato pouted playfully as Gary brought him back to his embrace "he beat up the bad guys good!"

"Really?" Gary sat down with Little Cato on his lap, looking up at Avocato with amusement

"Yeah...I guess I was pretty heroic" Avocato grinned lazily at Gary "though Mantis got away" 

"Mantis?" Gary repeated

"The one in black- he tried to burn you" Avocato explained

"That guy!" Gary gasped "he's the prick that cut my back and burned my apartment!" He groaned, serving some milk for Little Cato.

The two Ventraxians exchanged worried looks before looking back at Gary

"So that was him...at least we know what he looks like now" Avocato hummed in thought

"Yeah...had I known he was the same guy that chased me I'd probably would've done something about it" Gary placed Little Cato on his chair and served him some pancakes

"Chased you...you mean you did know what he looked like? Why did you lie?" Avocato asked angrily, disliking the fact the other lied about something so important 

"I didn't think he was a threat! Plus...I didnt want to cause anymore trouble or....lose this job- I like Little Cato" Gary frowned, running his hands on Little Cato's hair as the kid nuzzled in.

"Gary..." Avocato sighed with frustration "by not telling us you caused more trouble" he pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing as he noticed Gary look down at the table guiltly "anything that's a threat to you is a threat to us-"

"Yeah...I know, I'm sorry" Gary removed his hand from Little Cato, placing both his hands on his own lap as he looked down at them

"And I dont say that just because you're Little Cato's babysitter...I say that because you're our friend as well" Avocato placed some pancakes on a plate before giving it to Gary with a smile "so if you're in some trouble just tell me, got it, baby?" 

Gary looked up at the other in surprise, Avocato considered him a friend?  
"Okay" He shyly took the plate from Avocato as his cheeks turned a rosy colour at the use of the pet name, though he was sure it was some kind of catchphrase for Avocato.

"Crap! I'm late!" Little Cato gasped as he downed the rest of the food and grabbed his backpack "thanks for the food bye!" He said quickly with his mouth full as he ran out, leaving the two to eat breakfast alone.

"Oh! ....bye?" Gary gave a small wave, turning to Avocato before they shared a small laugh, amused by the kid's rush.

"Here" Avocato handed Gary the tank top once he finished his own food "if you're cold just say so" he took Gary's empty plate and made his way to the kitchen to wash the dishes

"Oh! Thank you" Gary took the shirt and put it on. The black tanktop was far too long so he tucked it in his blood stained jeans. 

Avocato returned to the table to help gather the rest of the things, stopping as he was greeted with quite a sight. Gary was bent over the table, reaching for the jug of milk, the tank top's strap falling off his shoulder and lucky for Avocato, the shirt was tucked in to give him a full view of Gary's ass.

"Oh Avocato!" Gary smiled, turning as he finally took the jug in hand.

Avocato nodded to himself at the sight, liking how the black of the tank top seemed to bring out Gary's skin color. He stole a quick glance at his chest, the revealing pink nipple calling attention to itself

"Can you put the table sheets to wash? Thanks!" Gary hummed as he made his way to the kitchen, the other's lustful looks going unnoticed as he was still head in the clouds for Avocato considering him a friend.

"Sure" Avocato's eyes followed Gary, checking every aspect of the human out as he tidied the rest of the things up.  
Sighing, Avocato went to do as asked and made his way to the washing machine, cursing himself

"Whats wrong with me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avocato is becoming gayer by the second  
> Someone help him


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary picks up Little Cato from school

Gary threw on his new clothes Avocato had gotten him, impressed that he guessed his size just from looking at him  
"Guess that's why he was staring at me lately" Gary hummed to himself, checking if the jeans fit properly, he wasn't much for skinny jeans but Avocato did choose them so he'd wear it. 

The phone downstairs began to ring and Gary grabbed one of Avocato's hoodie before he ran downstairs to answer it

"Yello?" He answered the hologram call, smiling as he was face to face with Avocato 

"Hello" Avocato greeted from his office, smiling as he noticed Gary was wearing the red t-shirt he had bought him that was visible from under the hoodie that seemed to fall of his shoulder

"What do I owe the pleasure, general?" Gary gave a playful bow to which Avocato only rolled his eyes with an amused smile

"I'd just like to remind you about your new wrist device before you go collect Little Cato" Avocato tidied the papers on his table before folding his hands "you know where to send your location, right"

"Yes sir" Gary saluted "on this button here" he smiled 

"Good...use that button for emergencies only though, it will send me a warning" Avocato hummed "you know where Little Cato's school is?"

"Errm....yeah I think so" Gary nodded "the one like over the top where there's like a big library close by, right?" 

"Correct" Avocato smiled, he wanted to make sure nothing were to happen to Gary again but he couldn't exactly forbid him from leaving the house, he was his own person and last time he did that...Little Cato had ran off on his own anyway "how are the new clothes fitting you?" Avocato asked, not really wanting to hang your yet

"Oh!" Gary span in front of the hologram for Avocato to see "they fit well! Quite comfortable too, thanks!" Gary smiled before he gasped as he noticed the time "uh oh! Sorry Avocato, gotta go" 

"No worries" Avocato nodded "be careful, Gary" he told the other. Truth was, Avocato had finished earlier and would get to meet Gary halfway, he wanted to make sure Gary was really okay, once he checked it himself then he'd allow him to go out by himself.

"Will do, bye bye!" Gary waved at the hologram as it switched off. He smiled, satisfied with finally being able to leave the house by himself.

"Guess I should start going too" Avocato put on his uniform jacket and made his way out.

When Avocato had to return to work, Little Cato would try spend as much time as he could with Gary despite having to go to school, he even helped around the house since the human couldn't do much without his other arm.  
The boy had told Gary that Avocato only allowed the medical pods to be used for emergencies involving him so either Gary was really dying or Avocato really cared for Gary, the boy seemed to insist on the second option.

"Should be here..." Gary made his way to the school, looking around at the few spaceships parked around the area as well as the parents waiting for their kids to come out.   
The human's attention was taken by some shouting near the gates as well some whispered among parents. Curiously, Gary made his way through the small crowd to find a father with his child hiding behind him with a wicked grin, the father was screaming to none other than

"Little Cato!" Gary called, jogging to join the boy who seemed to try put up a brave front.   
Little Cato, who glared at the other with his ears lowered, perked up at the familiar voice and quickly looked away from the man to see Gary. 

"Primate!" The man barked "is this little shit yours?!" 

Gary's face turned cold quickly, his usual relaxed smile disappearing into a thin line as his eyes turned icy blue with anger. He quickly understood that the man had most likely talked like this to Little Cato and Gary didn't quite like that- 

"Language" Gary scolded as he made his way to Little Cato, pulling him close against his waist in a protective manner "the only little shit I see here is you- whats the problem?" Gary said cooly 

"The fuck did you just sa-"

"Language" Gary warned "what? Can't you speak like any other?" 

"Why you-" the other cut himself off "that fucking kid punched my son!" 

"And what? You were screaming at a child instead of telling a carer first? Real mature" Gary was quick to reply, venom in every word as he rolled his eyes at the sarcastic comment

"You better fucking respect me!" The man growled, puffing his chest as he stepped closer to Gary.  
Little Cato seemed to shrink behind Gary but Gary didn't move a muscle, why would he? He had almost died, what felt like, hundreds of times and he lived with general Avocato...There's no way he should fear a nobody like him.

"No thank you" Gary replied with a bored expression despite the man's face being too close to his face.

The man breathed heavily with anger, the snickers of his son dying down as his father had no reply to that. The laughter only returned when the man spat in Gary's face 

"You should put that thing on a leash" he gestured to Little Cato

Meanwhile, two ears perked up at the conversation. Avocato had just arrived in time to see the man spit on Gary before addressing his son as "that thing"

"Little Cato..." Gary turned to the boy "why did you punch this man's son?" He asked calmly which seemed to please the man, making the other two believe they had won.   
Little Cato shrank as he thought he was in trouble, looking up at Gary's eyes that turned soft only for him.

"He..." Little Cato swallowed nervously "he tried to punch me so I defended myself and punched after" he answered

"There you have it" Gary turned back to the man, ready to leave "do not shout at a child and blame them when your parenting is to blame" 

"My kid wouldn't do such thing!" The man shouted 

"He wouldn't? Then perhaps we can ask to have a look at the footage- I'm sure any misunderstandings will be cleared up then" Gary suggested, leaning down to smile down at the child.

"No thanks" the boy hid behind his father

"Why not?" Gary acted worried "afraid that maybe you might get in trouble for trying to pull an adult against a child? Or is it because you're embarrassed Little Cato totally beat your ass?" he grinned though that grin was quickly wiped away by a sudden slap across his cheek.

Avocato growled, deciding it was time to step in, the crowd moving asides for him.

"What's wrong? Can't solve problems with words? Quite an example you're giving your child" Gary smiled cockly "perhaps that's why this whole incident happened in the first place"

"Why you fu-" the man grabbed Gary's shirt before he gasped in horror and let go slowly

"Is something the matter?" An oddly calm voice asked from behind Gary, making the blond turn in surprise

"Dad!" Little Cato smiled, taking Gary's hand

"No...Nothing's wrong sir" the man cowardly replied 

"That so? Because for a moment it seemed you were mistreating my son and my good friend here..." Avocato played dumb though it was clear he was angry 

"Oh! No! No no!" The man waved, quickly taking the boys hand "Nothing like that" he backed away, excusing himself

"Good- take that little shit and be gone" Avocato growled

"Avocato!" Gary scolded "he's just a kid! Dont be like that" he placed his hand on his hip.  
Everyone was taken by surprise by the other standing up against Avocato when he was in the angry state though they seemed more surprised when Avocato sighed and apologized quietly to the human.

"Come on- I want to wash my face" Gary groaned in disgust, pulling Little Cato along as Avocato trailed behind.

"Here" Avocato took his handkerchief and turned Gary's head towards him.

Gary paused, turning to Avocato so he could clean the spit off his face, letting go of Little Cato's hand to grab the piece of cloth only to have Avocato himself rub the soft cloth on his face with concentration. 

"Avocato..." Gary sulked lightly as he felt as if Avocato was treating him like a child who just had gotten chocolate all over his face.

Once Avocato had done he paused, placing his hand against Gary's red cheek that had been slapped.

"You okay?" His gaze softened with worry, slowly caressing Gary's cheek with his thumb

"Yeah, guy was super weak not gonna lie" Gary snickered, smiling up at Avocato. Gary didn't have many friends but he quite liked the way Avocato seemed to rub his thumb over his cheek, leaning against the touch with a content smile and allowing his eyes to close.

Avocato felt that this was dangerous, the way Gary leaned against his palm and closed his eyes was far too welcoming... He took occasional glances at Gary's lips that were curved into an adorable smile, they looked soft and tempting- he leaned closer

"Guys?" Little Cato broke the silence, making Avocato's fur stand in surprise 

"Yeah?" Gary turned to the kid who had been watching the whole scene, cluelessly 

"Your...your cheeks are surprisingly squishy" Avocato started pulling Gary's cheeks, interrupting Little Cato from saying anything

"Ow! Avocato!" Gary giggled, trying to pull away before reaching and pulling on Avocato's cheeks as well

Little Cato continued watching the scene before him. He decided that he quite liked his father and Gary being this close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato is begging to ship it? UwU purrhaps


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato talks about sports day with Gary

"Sports day?" Gary repeated as he placed dinner on the table and sat in front of Little Cato "sorry... refresh my mind on what sports day is" Gary chuckled. Truth was, he never really went to school after his father died so he knew absolutely nothing about school's events.

"It's practically a day in school where we don't study and just do sports all day" Little Cato explained, perking up as the food was placed on the table "we do lots of games and parents come..." he suddenly sighed, a bored expression returning to his face.

"That sounds fun" Gary served the food with a smile "so...why do you not look excited?"

"Well..." Little Cato hesitated "Usually I don't go...since I know my dad won't be able to go" he frowned as he looked down, he had always wanted to try the sports day but when he had arrived to the sports event and there were parents everywhere, he immediately left.

"Did...did you ever tell your dad?" Gary asked with concern

"...No..." 

"Then how would you know your dad won't go?" Gary smiled softly "Knowing Avocato...Im sure he'd find a way to go" 

"But he's busy" Little Cato played with his food, his ears and tail drooping

"Your father wouldn't ever be too busy for you, Little Cato" Gary said with a serious tone before he smiled once again "But if you really want me to go, I will" 

"Really?" Little Cato cheered up instantly, happy to finally be part of the event and to actually have someone there

"Of course!" Gary chuckled "now, eat and then get some rest- you have a long day tomorrow" he took a bite of his own food

Little Cato nodded and began to eat, taking more food once he finished his first plate

"Woah! Calm down cowboy...don't eat too much before bed, you still gotta digest all that" he chuckled

"Okay" Little Cato stopped, looking down at his plate and deciding it was enough.

He and Gary watched a movie together before Little Cato took a shower and went to bed, nuzzling into the covers as Gary tucked him in. His eyes closed as he wanted to get some sleep as quick as possible 

"Goodnight" he heard Gary whisper before he felt a soft kiss on his forehead.   
The boy was surprised to say the least, he remained with closed eyes, pretending to sleep while his tail seemed to sway side to side happily. Little Cato wouldn't mind more kisses goodnight from Gary.

\--------------------------------------

Mantis watched his boss break more bottles of alcohol in anger  
"He's still alive?!" She shouted in fury, breaking yet another glass.

Mantis had done everything to find Gary and kill him, it had to be him to kill the man with his own hands- he had to be sure so he could tell his boss.

It had started with him hiring people to find him and tell him everything they knew, not to cause any harm to John Goodspeed's son. Mantis wanted Gary alive so he'd kill him himself for his boss. 

His bets on Derek were already low but the way that man failed was just embarrassing.  
Luckily, Mantis got new information though...

"If I may...." he spoke quietly "Gary seems to always be around a child....perhaps we could use that child to lure him" he suggested 

His boss had paused everything , slowly turning to him as she poured another drink for herself

"Do it...if you fail again- I will get rid of him myself" 

\--------------------------------------

Little Cato woke up in cold sweat, breathing heavily as he looked around the dark room. His quick heart had calmed down as his eyes fell on Gary, the man sleeping peacefully in the beanbag.

The boy had tried return to sleep but he just couldn't. No matter how much he tossed and turned, the image of fire and Gary's wounds would flash in his mind- the nightmare he had still fresh in his mind.

Once the image of Gary dying in his dreams got far too much for the boy, Little Cato slowly made his way to Gary, nudging him lightly.

"Gary?" He whispered, sniffling lightly as he watched Gary stirr.

"Wha-" Gary's eyes squinted in the dark "Little Cato?" He whispered, unable to see properly

"Gary...can you come with me to my dad's room?" The boy asked shyly, fidgeting with the covers he dragged along.

Gary sat up with a worried expression as he heard the cracking voice and sniffed from the boy

"Of course" he said sweetly, standing up and taking his hand "are you alright?" 

Little Cato only nodded, not knowing that Gary couldn't see in the dark like him and his father. He dragged the human along the darkness, opening the door slowly to his father's room.

"Dad?" He whispered, smiling as he saw his dad turn to the door immidietly, his general senses shining through.

"What is it son?" Avocato asked, glancing between the obviously blind human and his boy with swollen eyes

"Can I sleep with you?" Little Cato asked, stepping closer to his father's bedside

"Of course....Did you have a nightmare?" His father sat up as his kid started climbing in bed with him

"Yeah..." Little Cato answered, getting under the covers with his father

"Well then..." Gary whispered "I'll give you two some privacy" he smiled, excusing himself but walking into a wall instead

"What?" Little Cato frowned, he seemed afraid "Gary, stay" he whined, trying to reach for the man who was rubbing his nose in pain

"Oh..." Gary turned to the boy's voice "Well alright" he smiled, walking with caution towards him. Once his foot hit the edge of the bed, he sat down on the floor "I'll be right here" he smiled

Little Cato crawled over his dad and started tugging Gary's shirt up, wondering why he wasn't joining them in bed  
"Can I sleep with both of you?" He asked finally, thinking that maybe he needed permission 

Gary placed his hand over Little Cato's small one that pulled him closer, his hand seemed to shiver and the boy sounded frightened   
"Of course...if that's alright with you dad" Gary smiled softly, just wanting to make Little Cato feel better

Avocato tensed as Little Cato turned to him for permission. Gary had accepted so easily, he wasn't sure how the other did it until Little Cato looked upat him with those teary eyes.

"Thats alright with me" he brushed a hand over Little Catos messy hair and layed down with him.

Gary stood up, his arms searching around until they felt something soft. He carefully made his way on the bed, pausing as he tried to feel his way to the other side with his hand but instead only got a hand full of fur.

"Ermm....here, let me help" Avocato offered nervously, Gary was currently sat on his lap as he seemed to brush his bare chest. He carefully tilted Gary to the side and showed him where to lay down, Little Cato remaining in the middle between the two.

"Thanks" Gary whispered, patting his way around until he felt the familiar feel of Little Cato's fur.

Little Cato turned away from his father to smash his face against Gary's chest, desperate to hear his heartbeat and know he was okay and it was all just a bad dream, he smiled softly as the calming thumping and Gary's arms around him brought him back to sleep.

Avocato smiled softly at the two, watching Gary's eyes softening as he brushed Little Cato's hair. He couldn't help but chuckle as Gary was quick to follow after, falling asleep rather quickly by the surrounded warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More trouble? Uh oh??
> 
> I wrote that Little section of Mantis because in one of the earlier chapters I forgot they wanted Gary alive and not dead- so I had to fix it uwu


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wakey- wake  
> It's time to wake up uwu

Warmth surrounded him, he was safe and cozy where he layed. The scent around was different than home yet familiar and Gary did not want to get up.  
No, not the usual "I don't want to get up and have to live another day"...this was different. This time Gary was so comfortable and felt so protected that he didn't want to leave the warmth. 

He had been half asleep for a while, zoning in and out of cousiousnes. It wasn't until he heard a small snore that he finally opened his eyes.

Gary first noticed a pair of big arms holding him close, he slowly twisted his body to be met with Avocato who was sleeping peacefully while cuddling Gary.

Gary felt his face heat up at the realisation that Avocato had been spooning him this whole time, though Gary didn't necessarily dislike it- in fact he loved this kind of physical contact...so much that he didn't realize how touch starved he was until he began tearing up.

Not wanting for the other to wake up with him in tears, Gary attempted to break out of the Ventraxian's grasp which only led into Avocato tightening up the hug and pulling Gary closer. The man placed a hand behind Gary's head and brought him closer to his chest where a low and very quiet rumbling could be heard

"Is he purring?" Gary thought, surprised that the general could purr afterall.   
If it wasn't for Gary suddenly remembering how he used to sleep with his father, Avocato's purrs and slow beating heart would've lullabied him back to sleep.

"Oh come on" Gary grumbled quietly as he tried to clear his tears away. He decided he really needed to get away before he woke Avocato up...

"Mmm" Avocato hummed, his eyes slowly fluttering open.

Gary didn't know what to do. Afraid Avocato would see him cry, he smashed his face against Avocato's chest to hide it and pretended to sleep.

When Avocato awoken from his sleep, he scratched Little Cato's ears only to find them gone and his hair much longer than it should be. He quickly looked down and felt his heart stop.

He was hugging Gary. 

Avocato froze in place, examining if the other was awake before he relaxed as he noticed the other was still asleep. 

He allowed his hands to brush Gary's soft hair, taking in the texture and scent the other carried. Smiling softly, Avocato decided he quite liked how Gary felt in his arms.

"Gary?" His whispered as he noticed the other shiver in his arms, pulling away slightly to try get a proper look.

Gary's face was completely red and his eyes were shut close as tears streamed down, he was obviously awake. 

Usually, Avocato would've been embarrassed, however he was far too worried about Gary to care

"Are you alright?" He asked, bringing his hand to Gary's cheek and rubbing the hot tears away with his thumb.

Gary was confused. He would've expected Avocato to pull away instantly when he woke up or maybe get angry with Gary for being awake and still remaining in his bed- what he didn't expect was Avocato's low morning voice asking if he was okay.

Gary finally opened his eyes, his cheeks red from embarrassment had turned into a blush at the low voice and eyes that seemed to pierce through him.

"G-good morning?" Gary forced a smile

Avocato only stared at the other in silence before pulling away   
"Sorry" he said quietly as he sat up, thinking he had made the other uncomfortable. Gary was his son's babysitter- not....whatever this was.

"Wait-" Gary didn't understand why Avocato had apologized, all he knew was that he didn't want the warmth of another living being to go away.   
"Let me just stay like this for a moment" he smashed his face against Avocato's chest, gripping tight onto the fabric of his shirt "please..." his voice wavered, afraid the other were to pull away.

Avocato hadn't expected the bizarre request but looking at Gary looking so unusually pitiful, he couldn't bring himself to reject - not that he would anyway.

He readjusted his position and sat brought Gary closer, bringing the blankets around him as he quietly sniffed. Perhaps he had a nightmare? Avocato didn't know nor understand why the human was crying...but if hugging him like so would help, then he'd do it as long as he needed.

"Sorry..." Gary mumbled, feeling guilty and embarrassed for looking so pathetic.

"You still haven't answered" Avocato spoke softly to Gary, afraid he'd break with any sudden movements or noises "are you alright?" 

Gary who hid in Avocato's chest glanced up, looking up at the general before smiling softly   
"Yeah...I am now, thanks" he sighed, nuzzling back in.

Avocato flinched as the other nuzzled in, his heart picking up pace as he looked down at the human.

"T-then...why were you..." he trailed off, finding it hard to speak to Gary without missing words or stuttering- something he had never done.

Gary sighed, pulling away from Avocato's chest so he wouldn't mumble, and turning so he was practically sat on Avocato's lap as if it were normal, unaware of the effect he was having on Avocato.

"It's been a while..." Gary started with a distant look "since-" he cut himself off, chuckling sadly with embarrassment "since I had anyone...you know...touch me like this..." 

Avocato listened carefully, watching the sad look in Gary's eyes as he leaned against his chest

"Last time someone hugged me...I guess that was my dad- he's gone now...long gone" he continued "I've been alone for as long as I remember so I guess- I kind of- you know?" Gary looked up, hoping Avocato would understand 

Avocato's ears lowered in sympathy, nodding slowly at what Gary meant. He understood now Gary's actions, the touchy feely behaviour, Gary was touch starved and he had every right to be.

Gary tensed slightly as he felt Avocato's fingers through his hair before melting into the touch with a soft smile  
"Thank you..." he whispered as if he were to speak any louder his voice would be sure to break down.

A few more moments had gone by of the two just sitting in silence as Avocato's purrs slowly raised in volume. It wasn't until Gary had noticed something missing that he sat up properly

"Where's Little Cato?" He asked as he looked at the empty bed

Avocato had stopped playing with Gary's hair, looking around before he lightly pushed Gary away  
"Excuse me" he stood, checking the time.

Gary watched Avocato's tail perk up as he froze with a soft "I'm late" 

"Oh" Gary stood, peeking from behind Avocato at the time "sorry..." he frowned

"No- its quite alright" Avocato sighed, turning to get ready. He stripped off his shirt and pulled out his neatly folded uniform

"Oh!" Gary covered his eyes, his cheeks turning a light dust of pink "I'll go prepare breakfast then" 

"Alright" Avocato chuckled in amusement, watching Gary leave before he turned to his clothes that had Gary's scent mixed with his.

Gary leaned against the door, trying to compose himself before he headed downstairs and began making Avocato something quick to eat. He tried to hum quietly but his mind was filled to the top with Avocato for some reason, making the human mess up every second.

"Oh crap!" Avocato heard as he came downstairs to Gary wiping some milk on the floor "sorry-" 

"You alright?" Avocato examined Gary with worry

"Y-yeah! Just a little out of it" Gary stood with a nervous laugh, robotically walking back into the kitchen.

Avocato, of course, wasn't convinced. After what Gary had told him this morning he was sure to be more worried for the human. 

"I wonder why Little Cato didn't wake us" Avocato sat down on the table as he began to eat

"Maybe he was in a hurry" Gary sat down as well, taking his usual pills with the tea he bought since they had none

Avocato watched Gary take the pills, humming to himself as he wondered what Gary needed them for. 

"Ah!" Gary stopped drinking his tea as he remembered something, putting the cup down but keeping his hands around it "today Little Cato has ....what was it called- Sports day?" Gary smiled "you should totally go because if you don't I will kidnap you~" he wiggled his fingers with a snicker

Avocato perked up at the mention of the event  
"Oh? How so?" Avocato leaned in with amusement at the light threat, he already had intention of going but Gary's playfulness intrigued him

"Errmm....I didnt think that far ahead-" Gary mumbled "I...uuub- I can't tell you! Otherwise you'd know my very well thought out evil plan" he laughed with a nod, a sad attempt at an evil laugh.

"Alright" Avocato laughed lightly at Gary "what time do the parents go in?" 

Gary froze, blushing at the sound of Avocato's laughter and completely missing out the question

"Gary?" Avocato clicked his fingers in front of the human "you alright?" 

"Oh! Yeah- yeah! You're fin- I'm fine!" Gary gave a nervous laugh before he shoved some toast in his mouth to stop himself from embarrassing himself more

"Okay..." Avocato rose a brow, thinking that Gary was simply hungry "what time do the parents go in?" He asked again

"Like...11am or something?" Gary shrugged, uncertain

"Isn't that like...in an hour?" Avocato asked, looking at the time

"What?!" Gary stood, leaning in to see the time before he gasped "I need to go prepare lunch!" 

Avocato remained seated, watching Gary suddenly rush to the kitchen and wrap the pink apron around his waist, he ate slowly as he allowed Gary to do his thing and cook for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year!!


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sports event has began!

Little Cato didn't know whenever to be excited or nervous, he anxiously played with his tail as the others seemed to eye him, surprised that he was in.   
The boy wanted to play and show off his skills but right now he wasn't so sure, how was he supposed to have fun with everyone staring at him? What if the other students started bullying him again? What if Gary didn't come.

The morning was spent to pretty much do attendance, warm ups and stretches so no one would get hurt- there were a few kids who pushed him and laughed at him here and there but other than that nothing like the usual punches. 

When the times for parents to come in had finally came, Little Cato wanted to hide immediately. He immigrated to the corner of the school instead of running to the gates like every other kid, anxiously crossing his arms and trying to seem as though he wasnt expecting someone. Little Cato didn't want to get his expectations too high- because if Gary really couldn't come then he would've been excited for no reason, which hurt quite a lot more...

Many parents had already began to come in and set out their picnic towels around the school yard, talking to their children and laughing together.  
Little Cato huffed, kicking a rock away as the laughter seemed to ring in his ears-  
Maybe he should just leave...  
But what if Gary actually comes?  
No...he wouldn't- Little Cato should just leave 

"Hold me up higher!" A familiar voice called "he is very small! I need to- Oh! Oh! There he is!" 

Little Cato looked up to see an oddly tall Gary waving at him with a huge smile, slowly lowering to a normal size.

"Come on Avocato!" Gary took Avocato's hand and started dragging him away from the crowd to Little Cato.

Little Cato gasped at the name, standing away from the wall as he saw Gary pull an embarrassed Avocato along

"Little Cato!" Gary placed a big bag down and engulfed the boy in a hug, spinning and setting him down "hope you don't mind that I brought someone along" 

Little Cato stammered, slowly lifting his finger to point at Avocato   
"H-how? Why?! Dont you have work?" He asked 

"Well..." Avocato chuckled in amusement "I was late for work- plus...Couldn't miss you being awesome, could I?" Avocato placed his hand on Little Cato's head with a smile.

Little Cato didn't smile but his tail wagged happily behind him as he shyly looked down. Both adults chuckled at the kid, Gary leaning down to pick up the bag and look around- it was familiar to him, the school setting, but only because he went to primary...it brought him good memories.

"So...where to son?" Avocato asked, patting the boy's back.  
Little Cato grinned Big as he realised that his father and Gary were actually here with him, he grabbed both their hands and started pulling them along to a spot.   
Gary pulled out a towel out of the bag and set it up before pulling out some boxes with food he had made and a bottle of juice as well.

Little Cato practically bounced in his seat, watching Gary set out the food and trying his best not to drool

"Save the energy for the event" Avocato laughed

"All students please come join for the pledge to the Lord Commander" a voice announced on the radio.

Little Cato huffed, standing up with disappointment as he wanted to eat already. He joined the rest of his class and placed his hand against his chest just like everyone else

"For eternity, for Lord Commander" a teacher announced

"For eternity! For Lord Commander!" The children followed up.

Parents cheered and clapped, Avocato simply clapping with his hands while Gary remained silent, giving Little Cato a thumbs up whenever the kid looked at them. Gary never understood pledges and he quite preferred not to take part in any.

"Alright, children, break time- you may go join your parents for lunch" a teacher announced from the speakers as the others dismissed the classes one by one. 

Gary began to set out the food as Little Cato walked over and sat down  
"Here you go" he handed the boy his share and then Avocato his. The two took the food gratefully and began to eat, Gary watched with a smile before joining in as well.

"Dont eat too much, I don't want you puking everywhere" Gary laughed as he watched Little Cato eat the food rapidly

"No worries!" Little Cato munched "I totally got this!" He grinned, taking a plastic cup and holding it for Gary to pour some juice.  
Gary chuckled, opening the bottle and pouring it for the boy

"I brought a water bottle as well, in case you need it later" Gary smiled, holding the bottle up to pour for Avocato as well

"No thank you" Avocato smiled as he continued to eat slowly. 

Little Cato went on about his morning, avoiding the moments the kids were mean to him to not anger his father. Finishing the food early so he had time to digest, the boy started to explain how the sports event worked

"Basically we win by classes and get a medal for it but whoever has the most individual wins will get a trophy- a lame one but a trophy" 

"Oh- alright" Gary nodded, laughing at the boy's description of the trophy 

It wasn't long after that the teachers started calling in their classes, ready to begin the games.  
Little Cato stood, grinning at the two adults  
"See ya!"

"Good luck" Avocato nodded

"Knock 'em dead!" Gary cheered, waving as the kit ran to his class.

The first game was thimbles, Gary didn't really understand it and it was horrifying seeing Little Cato get hurt- he couldn't understand how Avocato could laugh at his reactions because they were totally reasonable- Who plays a game to lose limbs and then get them back?!

Gary had relaxed more as the next game began, a relay race. Avocato and Gary cheered loudly only when Little Cato was running, after that they remained quiet and unbothered as the other children didn't concern them.

A normal race was bound to begin and it was Little Cato's turn to run. The boy got down, ready to run before

"Little Cato you look so cool right now!" Gary cheered from afar, waving his arms

"Get them son!" Avocato shouted as well

Little Cato blushed in embarrassment as he hadn't yet began and his dad and babysitter were the loudest already. Despite the embarrassment, Little Cato also felt determined to show his parents what he was made of

"Wait- parents?" Little Cato whispered a loud, not having much time to think as the sound of a gunshot was heard.

He sprinted to the finish line, whoever he was running against didn't matter as they were long forgotten behind him. Little Cato had a huge grin on his face, he was obviously having fun at the event

"Yes!" Gary hugged Avocato as Little Cato won.   
Avocato, who was also in the competitive mood, hugged back with a huge grin, dropping Gary to shout at his son some encouraging things.

Little Cato turned to Gary and Avocato with their hands up, waving at him. The boy grinned big and fist bumped the air in victory as he headed for his small break to gather enough energy for the next game.

"Did you see that?! He was all like NYOOOM" Gary laughed, doing hand gestures

"Heck yeah I did, baby!" Avocato laughed proudly as well

The sky had started to turn pink when the next game had been announced, it was a game Gary had never heard before so he was excited to see how Little Cato would take it.

"You don't know?" Little Cato asked as he took a drink of his water, panting slightly "its like a race with obstacles and then you take a slip of paper. The slip of paper says what you have to bring to the end of the race- if you don't have it, you just bring something similar" he explained

"We'll be here to help if you need a specific item" Avocato nodded as Gary hummed in understanding 

The final call to the game rang and Little Cato excitedly waved at the two before he rushed of to his place.

"You can do it Spidercat!" Gary encouraged 

"Show them how it's done!" Avocato cheered

Little Cato gave a last small wave before getting down and eyeing his track. He nodded to himself as a smile crept on his face.

There was quiet before the gunshot was heard, Little Cato beginning to sprint as fast as he could- he had more chance to win if he got a paper first.

He jumped over the bars and crawled under the nets before he got to the battle ground, where everyone would be allowed to trample and push one another. Little Cato jumped over the big students, using them to get ahead.   
He grinned wide as he was the second to get to the bags, digging his hand and pulling out a paper.

Just like that, everything seemed to stop.

Little Cato's ears lowered as he read the paper, everything going in slow motion to him.   
Whoever wrote these sucked, don't they know that not everyone has-

"Gary!" Little Cato gasped turning to look at the blond "Gary!" He called louder, running over.

"What's up?" Gary stood up, jogging to Little Cato to see what he needed.

Little Cato didn't say anything, simply grabbing Gary's hand and dragging him to the finish line as fast as he could.   
Gary was confused, looking around before turning back to the kit, wondering why he was there. Though he didn't want to slow the other down, so he jogged along side Little Cato to the finish line.

"Here!" Little Cato handed the teacher the slip, he was the first over as the other student was still searching for their item.

The teacher eyed the slip of paper and Gary, rasing a brow and shrugging it off  
"Little Cato first place!" They announced.

"Yes!" Little Cato smiled, turning to Gary and high-fiving him

"Nice!" Gary grinned, messing up the kid's hair before following him out back to Avocato.

They both sat down as Avocato smiled with amusement   
"So?" Avocato watched Little Cato drink his water "what was in the paper?" 

"Oh- that" Little Cato hummed "mother" he continued drinking

"What?!" Gary shrieked, now understanding the teacher's odd reaction, he stammered as his face grew red.   
Avocato stared in surprise at Little Cato in silence, blinking a few times as the information set in

"Yeah- at first I was like 'that's not fair but then I remembered Gary" Little Cato explained as if that would help

"Yeah, makes sense" Avocato nodded, understanding what Little Cato meant

"Where?!" Gary turned to Avocato "He would make it better since he's your dad!" He pointed at Avocato

"Dad is dad" Little Cato answered in the tone of 'are you dumb?' To Gary, as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Avocato laughed at the two, finding it amusing how embarrassed Gary was and how Little Cato seemed to just accept Gary was the mother role. 

Gary's cheek grew more red as the other laughed. He was really happy the other saw him as a parent role-model of sorts but Gary was not a woman and certainly not a mother.

"Next up, parents race" the teachers announced on the speaker

Parents, mostly dads who were soldiers, stood up and headed for the race course. There were confident smirks on their faces as well comments, all lining up.

"Go on dad!" Little Cato whooped as Avocato stood up as well, chuckling at the boy's excitement

"E-excuse me sir?" A teacher who stood there nervously tapped Avocato's shoulders "I-I'm afraid to say you can't take part in this e-event" 

"What?" Avocato turned to face the teacher, lifting a brow "why not"

"Y-you see... you're the general a-and i-it wouldn't be fair on the o-other participants" the man shrinked 

"How isn't it fair?" Gary stood up now as well "it's a parents race and this here is Little Cato's father, he has every right to be in" 

"Y-yes- but it wouldn't be fair on the other children" the man seemed to stutter less as he talked to Avocato 

"What? That's not fair on me!" Little Cato stomped his foot as he stood up as well

"It isnt my fault the other's are weak" Avocato growled, unhappy that they were excluding him because of a title

"S-sir please" the teacher stuttered as the final call to the race rang out "other's can participate but you cannot" 

Little Cato's ears lowered in disappointment before he glanced at Gary  
"What about him?" He pointed "can Gary take part in the race?"

"What?" Gary turned to Little Cato

"O-oh..." the teacher eyed Gary "y-yes he may" he nodded

"Then you go Gary! Avenge my father!" Little Cato said dramatically, trying to copy Gary's British accent 

"B-but-" Gary nervously looked at Avocato

"I don't mind" Avocato nodded, recalling the time he had tried to catch Gary when they first met but he kept always shaking him off, all while dragging Little Cato.

Gary wasn't good with public but he nodded anyway, nervously walking up to his place on the track.

"Rules are simple" the teacher started "you just have to finish the race- this means you can leave and come back to it" he explained "there really are no rules where it says you can't 'cheat' so feel free to do whatever it takes to win"

Gary nodded as the teacher left after explaining. He heard the small snickers as he was pretty much the only human in the race as well the smallest too. The soldiers squeezed him in between eachother, being big and strong. Gary blushed slightly as he was pretty much surrounded by strong men...his weakness...

"Gotta do it for Little Cato" he got into a running position, waiting for the gun shot

"Hey little shit" a familiar voice caught him off guard. The man who had shouted at Little Cato was standing right besides him.

Gary cringed, he couldn't believe he was getting nervous for this guy's muscles- no thank you! Avocato's were much bette-

"Wait what?" 

Before Gary knew the gunshot was heard and the man instantly tripped him up, making him fall on his face.

"Hey! He cheated!" He heard Little Cato's faint voice before everything grew quiet, Gary mentally shutting everyone up.

He hated crowds, he hated attention like this, he hated it...  
But what he hated most was that guy.

It happened in a flash, Gary quickly got to his feet and began to sprint. He ran past the soldiers with ease as he burned holes in the back of the guy's head with his eyes.  
Gary was running right behind him, leap frogging over him with a shit-eating grin.

"What the-" was all that was heard as Gary continued to run, easily taking the lead.

He was gonna win for Little Cato and rub it in that guy's face how much he sucked.

"Go Gary!" A familiar voice rang out and suddenly Gary could hear his surrpunding again. Avocato was cheering him on.

Gary's grin grew as he turned and didn't finish the race, instead running towards Little Cato

"Gary! What are-" Gary picked the kit up and went back to the race, carrying him on his shoulders.

The two laughed as Gary still managed to get past everyone, Little Cato cheering Gary on as he got closer to the end.

With that, Gary won the race with Little Cato on his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gary really said "you wanna see some real speed?"


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato doesn't have to work

Gary sighed as he lied on the beanbag- he had always been able to sleep anywhere since he didn't really get to pick but now that he had gotten a taste of sleeping with another person again he was struggling.  
He wanted to go lay down with the sleeping kit in the room, feel the warmth and hear the breathing of another living being- but that would be just plain rude. Gary was a babysitter not....whatever he was trying to be right now- it would be just straight on creepy.

So Gary remained with tossing and turning or just ceiling staring, trying his best to go to sleep.

Though it wasn't long the alarm started to ring for Little Cato. 

Gary didn't take long to get up and go downstairs, tiredly walking past Avocato who sat on the sofa watching TV.

"Good morning" Avocato greeted, looking away from the TV 

"Mornin" Gary mumbled

Avocato couldn't help but chuckle, finding it adorable how Gary's messy bedhair seemed to stand against gravity. He watched the human go into the kitchen before taking a sudden turn and walking back to Avocato, a bit more awake

"Shouldn't you be at work?" He asked 

"Not today" Avocato smiled, sipping on his 'coffee'. He hadn't really tried coffee until Gary bought some and seemed to drink it, he understood now why Gary seemed to make funny faces while drinking it, it was very bitter and Avocato liked it.

Before Gary could ask anything else, a very sleepy Little Cato smashed his face against Gary's leg- 

"Oh! Good morning Spidercat" Gary chuckled, messing up Little Cato's hair further before crouching down and picking him up.   
The boy didn't answer, simply resting his chin on Gary's shoulder as he began to purr loudly at the attention.

Gary always felt part of his heart melt whenever he heard a purr from a cat but hearing Little Cato (and Avocato when they slept together) purr was on a whole different level.   
As Little Cato kneaded Gary's shirt without ruining it, Gary made his way to the kitchen and began making some breakfast, having no arm for a while really gave him some practice to cook with one hand.

By then, Avocato had stood up and followed the two, leaning against the door frame as he took occasional sips from his coffee and watched them. He liked watching Gary cook, he always would do his cute little dance, swaying side to side.   
However, this morning, Gary wasn't dancing. Instead he just held Little Cato close as he watched the bacon sizzle with an empty look.

"Is everything alright?" Avocato asked, making the other jump and turn to look at him

"Yeah, what about you?" Gary returned the question, smiling cluelessly 

"That's not what I-" Avocato sighed, walking over and taking out the bacon that was beginning to burn "You don't look like your usual self" he interrupted Gary who was bound to send million apologies for almost burning their breakfast

"What do you mean?" Gary tilted his head, turning to look at Avocato 

Avocato paused, staring at Gary for a moment. There's no way he could say "You're not doing your usual cute dance" to the man, then he'd know Avocato was watching. 

"Just..." Avocato trailed off, reaching for some of Gary's locks that were just standing upright and brushing it down, tidying up his hair "You're usually more energetic, I guess?" 

Avocato cringed at himself, glancing away as he didn't want to embarrass himself further- though, when he glanced back Gary's face was completely red, looking down shyly at the gesture and at the fact Avocato seemed to pay attention to him.

His tail swished behind him with interest, now that Avocato knew that when humans turned red it didn't necessarily mean it was bad he couldn't help but chuckle. Gary was far too cute.

The chuckle had made the other realize he had yet to answer, begging to stutter out excuses before he froze as Avocato placed his hands on his shoulder and leaned in. 

Avocato had good hearing, so the moment he leaned closer to Gary he could hear the human's heartbeat pick up at the proximity. He tried to hold back a grin as he placed his forehead against the human's with a hum.

"A-Avocato?" Gary squeaked, tensing up 

"It seems you don't have a fever" Avocato leaned back with an amused grin, spinning around to sit on the table.

Gary stood in place, not really moving as he tried to process what had happened. His face was flushed a bright crimson as he seemed to stammer to himself, walking like a tobot to finish the breakfast.

Little Cato hadn't said anything as he was caught by surprise on his own father's actions. His dad wasn't the type of guy to do such a thing way less (very obviously) tease another.

"Gary put me down" Little Cato squirmed, jumping off as Gary allowed him to do so

"W-what's up?" Gary asked, glancing down at Little Cato who seemed to be staring with stars in his eyes.

Was Gary going to be officially his mom? 

Without answering Gary, Little Cato ran to the table, sitting down with his father and giving him the same exact look.

"Whats up with him?" Avocato asked once Gary came with the food, placing it in front of each of them

"Maybe he's excited you're here?" Gary shrugged with a smile, finally taking a seat with the two Ventraxians 

"Oh yeah- that reminds me" Avocato's ears perked up "I have another week off" he grinned

"Wait! Really?!" Little Cato leaned in with a huge smile "dad! We don't have school next week!" 

"I know" Avocato chuckled, watching Little Cato bounce "so I thought we should go on a little vacation" 

"Where?!" Little Cato gasped, hyped to spend more time with his dad 

Gary remained quiet, smiling at the boy's excitement as he ate. Part of him was worried, if the two were going away then Gary had no reason to stay at their house- it would be very rude. It was only a week, Gary would be sure to find a place to stay that long right? 

"Paraiso- it's an hotel on the Sara Bilia planet, not far from here" Avocato took a bite of his food "heard it had lots of activities for kids your age so thought it would be fun"

"Oh! Gary this is going to be so fun!" Little Cato turned to the other who only nodded and smiled as his mouth was full 

"I picked a room for the three of us if that's alright" Avocato turned to Gary as if asking for permission, he wasn't sure the human wanted his own privacy 

"Yeah that- wait! Three of us? I'm going?" Gary asked in surprise 

"Well, of course. I can't exactly leave you to go on a fun trip...unless you don't want to?" Avocato seemed unsure now, his ears flopping slightly 

"No no no! I'm super ok with going! Just...I dont want to cause any more trouble" the human sighed, glancing down at the plate 

"Gary, you are no trouble to us" Avocato places his hand on Gary's shoulder with a soft smile to get his attention "plus, Little Cato likes having you around" 

Gary looked up at Avocato and smiled with a small nod  
"Well then...if you don't mind me, I'll be tagging along" 

After they all had finished eating, Gary stood and took the dishes into the kitchen, smiling as Little Cato bounced as he waited for him.

"Alright, we're heading out" Gary announced, taking Little Cato's hand 

"Wait" Avocato put on a normal jacket "I'll come along, we have to get you some swimming trunks, Gary" he smiled 

Gary blinked in surprise but made no effort to refuse, stepping out as he waited for Avocato to lock the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's vacation time babey


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato has a realisation

Gary wasn't used to such attention, he was much more used to people recognising him on bounties rather than the "regular primate that beat the soldiers in a race with a kid on his back". 

The children seemed to look up to him in a weird way, they assumed anyone that was related to Lord Commander's second in command would have to be amazing but Gary....Gary was just Gary.

Avocato stood tall despite wearing his regular clothes, anyone being able to tell who he was by the aura he gave off. The Ventraxian couldn't help but chuckle as Gary ever so slightly hid behind him, not wanting any more attention- if only Gary knew that by getting closer to Avocato it would only call more attention upon them.

"Bye dad! Bye m- Gary!" Little Cato waved with a huge smile, genuinely happy that both his parents had come to drop him off (not that Gary was his mother yet)

"Oh! Have fun Little Cato!" Gary seemed to suddenly forget everyone, waving and matching the boy's excitement while Avocato only gave a small nod with a smile, blinking slowly at his son.

Little Cato seemed to smile even wider at his father, giving a very obvious slow blink back before bleping and running inside. 

"What was up with that?" Gary curiously looked between Avocato and where Little Cato had run off to

"Don't know what you're talking about" Avocato span on his heel, making his way down to the streets

"You know! The thing!" Gary jogged after, walking backwards once he was in front of Avocato

"What thing?" Avocato continued playing clueless, not wanting Gary finding out for some odd reason

"You know..." Gary gestured with his hands, trying to explain. Once the human realized he wasn't doing a very good job, he closed his eyes the same way the two had done before opening again.

Avocato felt his stomach flip and his heart pick up, without a second thought blinking slowly back at Gary

"That!" Gary stopped poiting at Avocato's face with a huge grin "is it some kind of secret message between cat people?" 

Avocato stopped, nearly bumping into Gary as he felt his face heat up at the realisation that he had just blinked back at Gary. He stared at Gary's goofy face, smiling cluelessly

"We aren't cats- we are Ventraxians" he corrected, ignoring the other's remark.  
He couldn't let the other know what certain Ventraxians gestures meant- such as this one...

"And don't even try to guess what it means" Avocato interrupted Gary who only puffed his cheeks now. 

Chuckling, Avocato poked his cheeks back in and continued walking, leaving Gary to throw a small tantrum over the untold "Cat people" secrets. 

Much to many Ventraxians dislikes, Ventraxians and cats were quite similar. When a Ventraxian closes his eyes in the presence of another living being it is a sign of trust and affection- a simple "I love you".

Gary spent most of their trip taking guesses on what it meant as well as giving Avocato many obvious slow blinks.

"Stop that" Avocato shoved Gary's face away as they entered another shop to buy the things they needed for the trip, he seemed to be surprisingly flustered by Gary's actions.

While Gary sulked and whined on how he wanted to know what it meant, Avocato's mind was still running wild at the previous realisation.  
He had never shown such affection to his previous "friends" (that were really just people he worked with) way less with his wife whom he was forced to marry. 

Things started clicking together for the Ventraxian.   
The odd feeling he got when around Gary, being unusually comfortable around Gary, showing his true self around Gary...

Avocato sighed at how obvious it all was.

He was in love with the human.

"Avocato!" Gary whined, tugging on the back of his jacket like a child "what does it mean? I'm going to go crazy if I don't know! I won't be able to sleep at all now!"

Avocato turned to look at Gary, his lips were pouting cutely as he looked up at the Ventraxian with pleading eyes. 

"There's no way I can tell you" he spoke through gritted teeth, trying the best to hold back the intrusive thoughts

"Why not! Pretty please" Gary tried begging again, smiling innocently at the other only for Avocato to pull on his cheeks

"I said no-" Avocato held back an amused grin, smashing Gary's face together "now let's go get you some swimming trunks, alright?"

"Okay" Gary sighed, giving up and allowing Avocato to smash his cheeks together.

At that moment, it took Avocato's whole being not to kiss the man.

The two began looking for something for Gary to be able to swim in.  
While Gary was looking at the board shorts that were much longer and went down to the knee, Avocato was looking at some swim briefs.

"Do you prefer to wear those?" Gary asked, intrigued by the images of Avocato wearing those deep in his mind

"Hm?" Avocato hummed, taking one of the briefs in hand "no, my fur would get stuck and it's super uncomfortable. I just think you'd look good in these" Avocato answered, not really thinking his answer through

He had only realized what he said when he turned to Gary who's face was flushed   
"I couldn't wear those- too revealing" Gary laughed nervously, turning back to the other section.

Avocato was disappointed in himself as well as the fact Gary wouldn't wear these. 

"Then which kind do you prefer?" He asked, walking after the human

"These, I guess?" Gary shrugged, taking one of the longest trunks "But I'm not sure, sometimes they scratch and make rashes" Gary sighed 

"Then...How's these?" Avocato picked up swimming trunks that were much shorter than the other, not reading the label and just wanting for the other to feel comfortable 

"Oh! That should work" Gary smiled, taking the pair in hand before it was swiped away "hey!"

"Whats your size?" Avocato asked, looking through all shades of blue 

"That's rude to ask! I can look for it myself" Gary huffed

"Fine- then pick this color, it will suit you" Avocato lifted one pair of blue trunks "pink will look good as well" he nodded

"Oh...okay?" Gary laughed, doing as told and picking out some trunks of the same blue shade "thanks Avocato" he smiled

Avocato's tail swayed behind him happily but his expression remained the same as he took the shorts and payed for them.

Neither of the two realizing the trunks were booty swimming shorts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OooOoooh NooOoOoo   
> They bought booty swimming shorts? How horrible! 😌😌😌


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato gets upset  
> I wonder why :c

The day couldn't have gone slower for Little Cato, he spent the whole day trying to speed through which only ended in him finishing all and having nothing to do in classes.  
However, he felt like he was being rewarded for the hard work as soon as he saw his dad waiting by the gate.

"Dad!" Little Cato jumped, hugging his father before his ear twitched with confusion "Where's Gary?"

"He is packing your bags" Avocato smiled, taking Little Cato's bag and carrying it while placing the kid on his shoulders

"Oh! When are we going?" Little Cato leaned over to look at his dad excitedly 

"Tonight" Avocato smiled "I want to go as soon as possible"

"Really?!" Little Cato gasped before growing quiet "dad?"

"Yeah?" Avocato's ears twitched as he noticed the change in mood

Gary had just finished cooking and now was packing up the food so they could eat during their trip. He made sure to pack more than usual in case Little Cato got hungry and wanted a snack.

"It's not fair!" A sudden cry scared the man, causing him to nearly drop the cookies he had just made.

"Little Cato-"

"No!" 

Gary walked out of the kitchen, surprised to see Little Cato arguing with Avocato. He stood there for a moment, watching the boy stomp upstairs and slam the door to his room.

"W-what happened?" Gary whispered, unsure if he should even butt in

Avocato didn't seem to have noticed Gary, snapping his face towards the human in embarrassment when he noticed he had been standing there

"He's...upset..." Avocato sighed, scratching the back of his neck

"Yeah...I can see thst" Gary finally placed the cookies in his bag, since he had not much to carry him decided to pack all the food with his things.

When Gary didn't get another answer from Avocato he sighed and smiled softly  
"I'll go check up on him" he pat Avocato on the back and made his way upstairs.

"Little Cato?" He knocked, calling softly as he opened the door.  
Inside the room, Little Cato was sulking in the corner, laying down on the bean bag with his arms crossed. 

"Come on buddy" Gary gently closed the door behind him and made his way towards the boy "talk to me" he spoke softly, picking up the kid and making himself comfortable in the bean bag with Little Cato on his lap.

Little Cato huffed in reply, looking away from Gary in a small tantrum but purring anyway at the attention when Gary began brushing his hands through his hair

"What's wrong?" Gary cooed, forcing Little Cato to look at him by turning his head softly

"Dad..." Little Cato pouted "he's being a jerk...and a coward" 

"What?" Gary blinked in surprise "Avocato being a jerk sounds half right but...a coward?" 

Little Cato giggled quietly at Gary's attempt to cheer him up, nodding as he nosed Gary's neck to get closer

"I asked him if...you were going to be my mom but he said no" Little Cato finally revealed

"Ah...I see" Gary hummed, rocking slightly to ease the boy "Wait what-" 

Little Cato meowed when Gary pulled away, looking at Gary in surprise 

"L-Little Cato! I'm a man!" Gary stammered "I can't be a mother!" 

That reply seemed to upset the boy more, pushing Gary away as he huffed and closed his arms to himself, making no effort to leave Gary's lap.  
Gary sighed, letting go of Little Cato's shoulders and hugging him close once again

"It doesn't have to be official for us to be family, Little Cato..." Gary looked down at the boy with a soft smile "I already see you as family, alright?" 

"You do?" Little Cato perked up, looking at Gary with big eyes 

"Yes" Gary nodded "I will take care of you as if you are my own son because I love you, Little Cato" 

Little Cato stared at Gary, his father was a man of actions rather than words so hearing that was extremely rare for the boy. Within seconds, Little Cato hugged Gary's neck and nuzzled in

"I love you too, Gary" Gary heard the muffled reply from the kit, feeling his heart swell up as he smiled softly. 

How long ago had he heard those words being said with meaning?

Gary inhaled as he hugged the boy closer, trying not to tear up as he kissed the top of Little Cato's head

"Now..." he pulled away but kept his arms around the kit "Your dad wants to go on this vacation not because he needs it but because he wants to spend time with you, Spidercat" Gary stood up with Little Cato in his arms "so how about you go give him a kiss?" 

Little Cato giggled as Gary booped him with his own nose and nodded, he hadn't kissed his father since he was a young kitten but being with Gary made Little Cqto realized that you're never too old to show others you love them.

"Dad!" Jumping down from Gary's arms, Little Cato ran downstairs, jumping halfway down the stairs as he knew his dad would catch him.

Gary laughed quietly as Avocato scrambled to catch Little Cato, holding him with a guilty and confused expression that melted away when Little Cato kissed his cheek. 

"Thanks, dad" Little Cato nuzzled closer "Gary called you a jerk by the way"

"Hey!" Gary finally made it to the bottom of the stairs "do not listen to him, Avocato, he is lying" 

"So...I'm a jerk, hm?" Avocato grinned in amusement, putting Little Cato down 

"A jerk that is going to take us on vacation!" Little Cato cheered, putting his arms up as Gary helped him put on his jacket and scarf on

Avocato laughed, handing Gary the hoodie he borrowed and seemed to like before picking up Gary's backpack, his son's and his travel bags as well.

"Ah! I can help" Gary quickly put on the hoodie as he ran out with Little Cato behind him, reaching for the bags Avocato set down while he locked the door.

"Close your jacket" Avocato sighed, making Gary turn and zipping up the hoodie for him "tell me if you're cold, alright? That jacket is thin" 

"Oh...yeah ok" Gary nodded, picking up his own bag and putting it on as he reached for another with his hand

"Carry me!" Little Cato snatched Gary's hand with a grin, throwing his arms up 

Gary shook his head with a chuckle but did so anyway, picking up Little Cato with a small huff

"Thanks mom" Little Cato gave a cheeky grin

"I told you- You know what? You're welcome" Gary sighed in defeat.

Avocato laughed, shaking his head in amusement as he picked the bags up. He was glad Little Cato was cheerful again but he couldn't take his words out of his head

"You obviously like Gary! Why can't he be my mom?" The kit argued in Avocato's head.

Avocato sighed, leading the way to the ship. It seemed Little Cato really wanted Gary to be part of his family which only gave Avocato more reasons to try his best with the human-  
But Gary was his employee and in no dimension would Avocato want to make him uncomfortable.  
He needed to keep things professional and now that Avocato knows he likes Gary romantically and with the vacation coming...

The real challenge begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this household we stan mama Gary


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a good trip ig

There was nothing but space around them. Gary had spent 5 years looking out the window of a ship yet he couldn't help but look out in wonder at all the stars, the feeling of being so small and insignificant lying heavy on his chest.

How did he, one dumb bad luck magnet, manage to land the luxury of being a babysitter to the best kid in the world and go on a vacation with a handsome cat-man? 

His life was so good that it was becoming scary...almost as if the universe was preparing his death bed and thus giving him some last good moments.

Little Cato had just finished his dinner, he sat on Gary's lap with the seatbelt trapping both of them in place as he stuffed his face with Gary's home made cookies.  
The two had played some games but it was clear to the boy that Gary was tired, dozing in and out of conversations they were having as well as spacing out sometimes.

The ship was pleasantly quiet, the soft purr from the motors and the quiet music Avocato allowed the two to put on being the only things daring to break the quiet. 

Little yawned, leaning against Gary's chest as he looked out the window as well.

"Here" Avocato leaned over and clicked the seatbelt to free them "there's really no use for that now" he smiled, wanting the two to get comfortable.

Little Cato stretched and then snuggled closer to Gary, purring quietly as the human began to rub his back gently until he fell asleep.

Once Gary had noticed Little Cato snore softly, he finally tore his gaze away from the stars and smiled down at him

"I'll go put him to bed" he stood up, carefully carrying the sleeping kit to bed 

Avocato only nodded, his eyes following Gary before turning back ahead to continue piloting. 

Tucking the kit in bed, Gary gave him a goodnight kiss on his forehead before finally returning to Avocato  
"You should eat something" he suggested, sitting down besides him

"I will in a minute" Avocato replied 

"You've been saying that the whole trip" Gary yawned, bringing his legs up and hugging them close as his eyes struggled to remain open "please eat"

"Alright" Avocato sighed but nodded anyway, stopping the spaceship and standing up to grab his food and sit back down

"You should head to bed" Avocato quietly ate his food, glancing at Gary with an amused smile

"I'm not sleepy" the human lied as he watched Avocato eat, blinking slowly due to the tiredness

Avocato stared at Gary and blinked back before continuing eating, he knew the human didn't mean the gesture but he couldn't stop himself now that he knew that he liked Gary romantically. 

"Why dont you want to go sleep?" Avocato finally asked once he finished his food

"Because we're on a ship..." Gary answered with another yawned "and I want to give you company" 

Avocato smiled at the last answer, remaining quiet for a moment longer before asking his next question  
"Do you not like spaceships?" 

"No...not really" Gary closed his eyes "never had good experience with them" 

"What do you mean?" Avocato finally started the ship again, glancing at Gary

"My dad...died in one" he answered quietly, too tired to hide anything from the other "I accidently destroyed a few and got arrested in a ship for 5 years all alone....and you know...got kidnapped the other time" he kept on listing 

"Oh..."Avocato turned to Gary in surprise "you destroyed ships? Accidently?" He asked a bit amused

"And a small family restaurant" Gary finally opened his eyes again with a sleepy giggle

Avocato laughed quietly, turning back to look ahead and allowing himself to drop the conversation.

"You know how to pilot?" He asked the blond

"Kind of...I guess" Gary replied "after I destroyed all those ships I studied a bit by myself"

"Come here" Avocato gestured for Gary to come to him, smiling as Gary did as told.  
Once Gary was close enough, he pointed to a set of buttons   
"This is the communication panel" he began explaining as Gary sat on the arm of his chair and nodded.

The Ventraxian continued to explain a few things to the human, telling him stories about his work that got a few giggles from Gary. 

"Hold on-" Avocato pulled Gary onto his lap "Let's see how much you learnt" 

Gary was far too tired to process anything, leaning against Avocato and giving a small nod as he took the controls and followed Avocato's commands

"Good, you're doing good" Gary shivered as Avocato spoke quietly next to his ear "keep it up" 

Avocato tried to keep his hands off Gary but to him it was as if his prey was sitting right in position to his trap, ready to be caught. Gary's guard was completely down, he hadn't even thought twice about sitting on Avocato's lap when the usual Gary would've most likely blushed (but do it anyway). 

Slowly, Avocato allowed his hands to rest on Gary's tighs, his thumbs rubbing the fabric of his jeans softly.   
Gary was practically within Avocato's claws, just like a small innocent rabbit who has no clue for the danger they are in or for whats coming.

Avocato's mind was running widly, the sweet scent of the human was blinding his sense of reason and he could only imagine the taste of Gary's skin in between his teeth, if Gary was as sweet as he smelled then perhaps Avocato did have a sweet tooth after all.  
He imagined Gary looking up at him with the same pleading eyes and pout, begging Avocato to trap him under his grasp and make him his, how he'd sound and whine when Avocato teased him...if Gary would beg by calling out his name.

When Gary's head fell on Avocato's shoulder, Avocato didn't have the courage to do anything. Gary had fallen asleep while Avocato was thinking about unpure things...  
This man trusted Avocato which is why he sat upon his lap without a second thought and Avocato was going to use it to his advantage.

"What am I doing?" he mumbled to himself, feeling his ears droop as he put the ship to a stop "I'm sorry" he whispered quietly.

He remained sat there for a few moments longer, listening to Gary's quiet breathing and mumbles as he ever so slightly nuzzled closer to Avocato.

Avocato sighed, finally standing up with Gary in his arms and setting him on the same bed as Little Cato, smiling softly as he instantly snuggled to the kid.

"Goodnight" he whispered and without another word, Avocato continued piloting the ship to their destination, pushing back any thoughts of Gary away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avocato is having problems already I see...


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast searching time

"Goodmorning" Avocato greeted Gary with a sleepy smile, his hand brushing the human's hair out of his face as Gary hummed and leaned closer.   
Wrapping his arms around Avocato's waist, Gary could feel the soft rumbling from his chuckling 

"You have to get up" the other reminded Gary but Gary only nuzzled closer to his soft and fuzzy belly, too tired and warm to move.   
Avocato sighed with an amused smile, leaning down to place a soft kiss on Gary's ear and whispered

"Wake up mom!" 

OK that was a yell

It wasn't until he felt a sudden weight on his belly that Gary woke up, eyes opening slowly to be met with Little Cato's big excited eyes.

"Wake up Thunder Bandit! We're here!" The kit exclaimed, shaking Gary slightly who wrapped his arms around the boy and forced him onto a hug so he'd stop.

Little Cato giggled, trying to break free from Gary's grasp by batting his face gently with his tail  
"Come on, Gary!" He whined "its going to be night time by the time you get up!"

Giving in, Gary sat up with the kit still in his arms and walked out of the room, yawning lightly as he walked towards a window out of a habit he got from the Galaxy 1.  
He stared out for a moment, still processing what was happening and where he was before finally turning to look at the pilot's chair to see Avocato on the phone with someone.

As Avocato noticed the other staring, he glanced and gave a quick smile in greeting, chuckling lightly as he noticed Gary's messy hair.

That chuckle...  
Gary felt his heart do backflips at the sound that suddenly reminded him of the dream.  
He wasn't a professional with friendships (since his first friend in forever was a child) but even he knew that the friendship he and Avocato had didn't involve kissing- especially since Avocato wasn't that affectionate.

"Gary!" Little Cato finally caught the human's attention again, squirming away from his grasp and climbing up the man as if he were some tree. The kit settles down on Gary's shoulders and grabbed onto his hair as if he could control the human, yanking softly to guide Gary towards where he wanted

"Let's explore! Dad said we can choose where to eat breakfast" he laughed as the human complained at the yanking

"Alright" Gary was quick to brush the dream aside, grabbing the hoodie Avocato let him borrow as he shuffled towards the door "Mission to find breakfast is on, Spidercat" he chuckled

Avocato waved as the two left, watching with amusement as Little Cato continued pulling Gary's hair to guide him around. Once they had left, he turned his full attention back to the phone call

"Still didn't find him?" He sighed in disappointment "alright, whenever you do find Mantis, contact me as fast as possible- do not kill him...I need to have a talk first" he ordered.

There's no way Mantis had personal relations with Gary which means he was contracted by someone...and that someone was going to pay.

"How about over there?" Gary suggested another café for them to eat

"Nah- too....normal- we need a special place since its the first meal of our adventure!" Little Cato replied, now resting his chin on the human's head instead of pulling his hair

"Adventure?" Gary chuckled, glancing up

"Yeah! We're going to explore the hotel and then do lots of fun things! An adventure" Little Cato grinned

"An adventure" Gary nodded with a soft smile "well....Little Adventurer, what kind of place are we looking for?" 

Little Cato hummed in thought, looking around for any ideas as he wasnt sure himself   
"Oh! Oh!" He suddenly perked up "how about there?" 

Turning to the direction Little Cato pointed, Gary noticed that it looked like a vintage classic American café- the kind of ones you'd see in a deserted place in movies but is actually surprisingly popular

"Let's go see" Gary smiled, somehow glad to see something that resembled his home planet.

Carefully, they crossed the road and checked the menus outside which hit Gary with a wave of nostalgia as they were mainly Earth dishes- the kind him and his dad would eat together.

"Let's eat here!" Little Cato decided as he licked his lips hungrily

"Alright, let's go and get your dad" Gary smiled, reaching up to mess the kit's hair before turning around to head back to the ship.

Little Cato looked around curiously, eyes traveling to anything interesting enough for him

"Hey Gary?" He leaned over to block the man's field of vision

"Hmmm?" 

"Can we go to the park after?" 

"If your dad agrees, sure" Gary shrugged with a smile "but if he doesn't agree we can always sneak away from him" 

Little Cato grinned, liking the idea. He rest his chin on Gary's head once again as he closed his eyes to enjoy the sunlight, in the space station they lived there wasn't much of natural sunlight or warmth so it was nice. 

"You're back" Avocato was waiting for them by the door, chuckling lightly as he gently flipped Little Cato's relaxed ears as he bathed in the sunlight "did you decide on where to eat?"

"Yep! Little Cato picked" Gary answered as he notices Little Cato become more sluggish above him

Avocato only smile and nodded, gesturing for Gary to lead the way which he gladly did.   
As the trio walked, Gary's eyes strayed from his destination as he took a slow turn towards the road. 

"Careful!" A sudden grip on the collar of his hoodie pulled him back as a car passed by in front of him.

"Oh!" Was all Gary could muster as he looked up at Avocato who was still gripping tight onto the hood.

"Look both sides before you cross" Avocato warned with a sigh as if he were talking to a child

"I know! I kno- I- sorry..." Gary looked down a bit embarrassed 

"It's over there right? Let's cross now" without a second thought, Avocato had taken Gary's hand due to habit

"Oh!" Gary held him back "actually is right here" he gestured to a shop just a few steps away with a small chuckle 

"Then where the hell were you going?" Avocato asked, unable to remain angry for too long as he felt Gary's fingers curl around his own hand 

"I- uhhh....I got distracted" Gary avoided Avocato's eye "by a bug..." he added more quietly as his cheeks grew red, ashamed by his own actions.

Avocato seemed more amused than angry, sighing with a faint smile as he just walked towards the direction Gary had pointed  
"Let's go" he squeezed Gary's hand lightly as he dragged him along

"O-okay!" Gary was quick to follow along, careful as to not jog and wake Little Cato as he caught up with Avocato.  
His smile had returned to his face and he happily swung their arms lightly as they walked, had Gary been paying attention he would've noticed Avocato smile at these simple actions...at their hands clasped together. 

"They left Tera Con Prime?" 

"Y-yes! I saw them... think they went on a vacation or some sort" the man cowardly shrunk, wanting nothing else to do with the human or those ventraxians. He yelped as the man before him began to burn some papers on the wall, things he could only assume were plans.

Mantis only sighed as he watched his plans turn to ash, he'd have to take a different approach now. 

Look at him...he even went out the way to get someone who had interacted with the ventraxian child as well Gary Goodspeed. According to this man, he and Gary had a bit of an argument in front of the child...so at least Mantis had confirmed the child's appearance.

"S-sir? M-may I go no-" 

A gunshot silenced him.

Mantis had enough of his boss' shouting, enough of broken glass and the scent of intoxicating alcohol, he had enough of seeing the human's face now and never quite getting what he deserved.

He thought this would be a quick job...a quick game of chess and a quick checkmate

But Mantis had enough of games...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit short and simple because there are so many garycato fanfics online yet no one thinks to update them and give me ideas?!?!?   
> I NEED SOMETHING TO READ AND KEEP MY SANITY! PLEASE!


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio arrive at the hotel but they need to go through security first

The building was tall and freakishly big, it was a well known hotel among planets around and many flew miles just to come.

Gary at first didn't see the big deal, why fly all the way to an hotel when there's many pretty much everywhere- then again he wasn't much of a picky person as he never had the luxury to pick.   
Clutching onto the strap of his backpack, Gary understood now why people went through the trouble, the building was beautifully painted and was pretty much surrounded by amazing amounts of fun.

The trio were standing in line, a line that was devided into many so everyone would get attended by an employee faster. Nervously, Gary shifted to stand closer to Avocato, he didn't feel comfortable around crowds ever since he entered downtown. 

Avocato payed now mind, at least Gary thought, so he didn't hesitate to allow their arms to brush against eachother as he inched closer.  
Unlike Gary, Little Cato seemed to be both excited and bored out of his mind. The line was slow to him but he knew it would be worth it.

The child and human shared short conversations, Gary glad that he was momentarily distracted until it was their turn to enter.

The inside looked a lot like an airport. People were getting their bags checked and passing by machines to make sure no one carried anything dangerous.   
It was weird, to say the least, but it was the solution they had come up with after the many attacks they had gotten. 

The hotel works differently than others. Everyone would enter and get checked up for any illegal or dangerous items, then you'd get a card that allowed you in the hotel and your room, the hotel being closed off to anyone else.

Avocato glanced down as he felt something tug at his sleeve, feeling his stomach flip as he noticed Gary was the one holding it and not Little Cato- Little Cato was far too busy admiring the place.  
Avocato noted that Gary looked around nervously as he tried to hold onto his sleeve as lightly as possible. Judging by the way Gary was living, the conversation they heard from Derek and people after Gary- it was safe for Avocato to assume Gary hadn't been in such a nice place before.

"Next!" One of the guards yelled out, making Gary jump as they were the ones next in line. 

"Come on" Avocato mustered his best comforting smile, one that he only used on his son, and took Gary's hand to drag him along.

Gary stumbled as Avocato took his hand, warmth rising up his arm as the smallest of smiles creeps on his lips. He felt safe with Avocato here, with his holding onto his hand.   
Avocato's hands were large compared to Gary's, they were both soft yet tough due to handling weapons regularly and Gary found himself quite liking the feel of his hand on his. 

Disappointed washed over Gary when the other had let go to place the bags on the moving belt so it could get checked up. Gary sighed as he placed his own bag down, removing the things necessary before joining Avocato and Little Cato in removing his boots.

Gary waited for Avocato to go through first, turning to look at him only to feel himself blush at the sight.  
Before him, Avocato was biting the bottom of his shirt to keep it up as he unbuckled his belt.   
Swallowing hard, Gary found his eyes drifting to the white patch of fur that could most definitely be his "happy trail"

"Gary!" Little Cato called, making the other jump and quickly advert his obvious staring "Come on!" 

"Ah- o-okay" Gary nodded as he awkwardly walked through the machine, his cheeks still flushed in both shame and embarrassment to have stared at Avocato- the man who so kindly is helping him and is basically his boss.

No way...

Was Gary just staring at Avocato just now?

Avocato couldn't help but chuckle at the idea, glancing back at the blonde as he walked through the machine. 

"There's just no wa-" Avocato allowed his shirt to drop as his words died down in his throat when blue eyes met his.

He watched Gary quickly turn away, his ears as red as tomatoes as a guard stopped Gary to check him up.

Holy shit.

Maybe...just maybe...Gary had a thing for Avocato as well?   
And if he didn't...maybe Avocato had a chance to make it happen.

Finally walking through the machine as instructed by another guard, Avocato glanced towards his son who was standing next to Gary who-

His fur started to rise as he watched the other guard pat down Gary. The human had nothing suspicious on him, there was no way...yet, why was that guard taking his time with patting Gary's legs?

Avocato squinted at the guard, growling lowly as he tried to not bare his teeth at him. He grabbed his and his son's bags before making his way towards the two

"Is there a problem?" He tried to seem composed but his voice snapped like a whip. Sure, Avocato may be overeating but he didn't care- not when he wanted to touch Gary's legs just as much as that guard was.

The guard glanced up at Avocato, the color of his skin draining to white as he recognised him

"Ah- y-yes Sir" he replied nervously, standing up.  
Avocato only rose a brow, indicating the guard to explain himself  
"Th-this human was carrying this pill with him so I was checking for more" the guard placed the pill in a plastic bag "w-we'll have to ask some questions if that's alright" the guard left before returning with Gary's bag

Avocato sighed, walking up to stand besides Gary who was guiltly looking down. 

"This way" the guard instructed, leading them to a table where he began to open up Gary's bag that was pretty much empty, the only things seen being a change of clothes, the swimwear they bought and some briefs as well as socks.

"Briefs huh..." Avocato mentally noted, trying to imagine the human wearing them already despite his rational mind telling him to focus.

"Ahah!" The guard pulled out a box of pills that was labelled with every day of the week "more pills, eh? May I ask what these are for?" He shook the box around, a sly smile playing on his lips- the kind of smile where you're confident you found something that shouldn't have been found

"Ah- thats my medication" Gary replied simply, still trying to shake off the feeling of the man's hands all over him

"Yeah yeah- we've all heard that excuse before" the guard gave an eyeroll that didn't last as Avocato began to glare daggers at him

"No- for real- huum-" Gary reached for his bag before stopping himself "o-on the front pocket there's the details I kept of the medication" 

The guard lifted his eyebrow before he began to dig in and pull out a folded piece of paper   
"Clever" he says "but why have you removed the pills from its original box"

"I forget" Gary huffed, not liking being questioned despite having proof right there. He inhaled, a sad attempt to calm himself as the guard only lifted an eyebrow   
"If you actually read the paper, you'd understand why I forget" he folded his arms self cautiously "I have adhd" he mumbled embarrassed to admit it outloud in front of Avocato and Little Cato, part of him feared he'd get fired if the others knew

"What the fuck is ad-" the guard stopped himself as he dropped the paper on the bag, his body frozen as his eyes met with bloodthirsty ones.   
Avocato was standing behind Gary, hands neatly folded behind him with a face that could only be translated to "dare ask any more questions" as well as "death" 

Gary fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt anxiously, disliking the growing silence between them- he glanced down at Little Cato who had his nose scrunched up in a very cute glare. The small one hissed at the guard, noticing Gary's discomfort just as much as his father had. 

"A-alright" the guard cleared his throat, beginning to fold Gary's clothes that he purposely threw out to avoid passing the general anymore "Apologies for the misunderstanding" 

"Oh..." Gary blinked, taking his bag back "no, its ok- you were just doing your job" he smiled kindly at the man, putting his backpack back on before taking the slip of paper back, unaware of the true reason the guard suddenly became polite and nice. 

When Gary had turned around to face Avocato, the guard couldn't help but stare with wide eyes as the general smiled softly down at the human, his glare gone within seconds. 

"S-sorry about the trouble" Gary apologized, his head down as he nervously looked up at Avocato

"Not at all" Avocato smiled "may I have a look?" He gestured to the paper clutched tightly in Gary's hands

"O-oh! Y-yeah" Gary gulped as he gave out the paper for Avocato to read, anxiously watching the man open up the paper and begin to read.

"Can we go now?" Little Cato whined, tugging on Gary's hand "I wanna go see our room!" 

Avocato hummed, folding the paper once again and handing it to Gary with a smile  
"Thank you" he nodded before turning "Let's go" 

Gary stared at Avocato's back as he walked away, he was relieved but also confused at the lack of reaction. He only began to follow the other when Little Cato groaned and pulled him along.

"That makes sense" Avocato thought to himself with a hum, recalling Gary's actions and how it all tied to this "ADHD" thing. He'd have to research it as soon as he could so he could understand Gary further and help him if he ever needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I going to shove my ADHD Gary headcanon on all of you? Heck yeah  
> Am I gonna forget to write about it later?   
> Yup


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio finally enter their room and decide to take a small mall trip

It was weird, to say the least. Gary was certainly not used to it.

"Why are you like this?"

"Why can't you just be normal?!"

"Focus!"

"You are such a r*t*rd..."

Despite hearing all that before, no such words ever came from the general himself. Instead, the general simply had told Gary to hurry up as his son had rushed ahead to find their room.

Doing as told, Gary quickened his pace, not wanting to make Avocato angry or disappointed in him more than he may already have. He slowed down to walk a few steps behind the other nervously, only for Avocato to stop abruptly, causing Gary to bump into him. 

"Ah! S-sorry" the human quickly apologized, taking a step back as Avocato's head turned to peer him down. They shared a moment of silence before Avocato sighed and grabbed his wrist, not too harshly but just enought to drag Gary along. 

Gary felt guilty for finding comfort in the touch, he likes this touch...he liked Avocato's hands- so there was really no attempt to break free. 

"Dad! Over here!" Little Cato waved from down the corridor, grinning widely as the two came closer.   
They all stopped in front of a door, Avocato letting go of Gary's wrist to grab his card and swipe it.

As soon as the door opened, there was a orange blur running in

"Woah! Look at this place!" Little Cato eyed everything excitedly as if he didn't have such things as a bed or a microwave in his home.  
At this, Gary couldn't help but chuckle, feeling his tense shoulders relax, the glance from his boss with a soft smile going unnoticed. 

As Little Cato hid under the covers and wrapped himself in a burrito, the two adults took a moment to examine the room only to find that there was...

Two beds.

Because life isn't some kind of fanfiction.

Gary fidgeted with the sleeve of his hoodie, unsure if now he was even allowed to do anything- the least he could do now was not cause trouble for Avocat-

"There's a hot tub on the balcony!" Little Cato gasped, quickly forcing the window of the balcony open to rush out

Gary was going to act normal and not cause any problems for his boss, Avocato the general, second in comman-

"Theres so many buttons!" 

With that, Gary dropped his bag and rushed outside, instantly at Little Cato's side peering down at the buttons.

"So many" Gary whispered in disbelief, his eyes growing twice the size

"Must.. press" Little Cato reached foward slowly, wondering if Gary would stop him 

No way that Gary was going to do that.

Instead, the human watched in anticipation, allowing Little Cato to have the first press

Click

A whirring sound started coming from the hot tub and then the water started to swirl around 

"Oooooooh" they both said in union as Avocato walked out as well after putting the bags away, a amused smile tugging at his lips as he leaned against the frame of the window to watch.

The balcony had a pretty view and to his surprise wasnt cold. It took Avocato a moment to realize that each balcony actually had thick window-like barriers around it, probably to avoid anyone from escaping of they ever do something illegal.

Gary and Little Cato turned to eachother, amusement clear in their eyes before it shifted into something as of mischief.   
With that, the button pressing battle began.

"That was fun" Little Cato commented as he flopped down next to Gary on the bed, the two were still giggling on about the random buttons options "though I didnt really understand why it vibrated"

"Yeah what kind of tub vibrat-" 

"You two" Avocato quickly interrupted Gary with a sigh, brushing his slightly wet fur, from the "accident", back "Let's go grab something to eat and buy dinner as well" he suggested "we can explore the hotel tomorrow" he quickly added as Little Cato opened his mouth to whine.

"Fine" Little Cato groaned while his tail whipped excitedly and proceeded to roll ontop of Gary.   
The human had made no attempt to push the other off, liking the physical contact, instead he just rested his arms on Little Cato's belly

"I meant like now" Avocato laughed at the sight of his kit, watching as he gently bumped his head against Gary's chin adorably.

They were all tired from the trip and Avocato knew that he, himself, wpuld certainly need rest if he wanted to enjoy his day tomorrow with his son and...babysitter who he brought along. 

With another groan, Little Cato rolled over to hide in the crook of Gary's neck, causing the other to giggle at the wetness of Little Cato's cold nose. 

"Come on, Spidercat" Gary wrapped his arms tighter around the kit and sat up but Little Cato only nestled closer to Gary. After a short moment of silence Gary sighed, dramatically- very dramatically- who even sighs like that? Gary- Gary does

"I wonder where he is...my little Spidercat" Gary shook his head, noticing Little Cato's ears perk up "he has been gone for so long...its been..." there was a pause "60 years!" 

This caused the small one to snicker 

"60 years ago since I last saw him" Gary added very dramatically- he didn't exactly know what he was building towards but it seemed to be working "oh what I would do to see my little Spidercat again" 

"Hmmmm" Little Cato hummed "say you're a doo doo butt" 

"I am a doo doo butt" Gary said with no hesitation

"You're not a doo doo butt" Little Cato glanced up at him before humming again "okay! Carry me!" 

"I shall carry you to the ends of Earth-err....to the ends of...of...stuff" Gary stood up with Little Cato, blushing slightly as Avocato laughed in amusement

"Nice save" Little Cato teased as he climbed up and sat on Gary's shoulders.

The three exited the place after Avocato had grabbed his wallet, the door automatically locking as it closed.  
They swiped the card again before exiting the hotel and looked around

"Where to-"

"To the mall!" Little Cato interrupted his dad as he pointed towards a direction as a command

"Sorry, Avocato, Spidercat makes the rules" Gary sighed as he walked towards said direction

"The mall is that way" 

Both Gary and Little Cato turned to Avocato who had his arms crossed, patiently waiting for their walk of shame back which was really just Gary shuffling with a Little Cato who pointed towards the correct location excitedly.

It came to Avocato's no suprise that the mall was big, this planet ran on tourists money afterall. Even so, both his kid and Gary seemed to be amazed at every little thing.

"Look Gary! Water shooting from the floor!" Little Cato pointed at a fountain to decorate the outside 

"Ooooh!" Gary gasped in amazement 

"Look Gary! A thimbles equipment shop!" 

"Ooooh!"

"Look Gary! That man is doing magic tricks!" 

"Ooooh!"

"Look Gary! A hotdog stand!" 

"Eh."

As they entered the mall, Gary had placed Little Cato down once again, Avocato quickly taking Little Cato's hand before he disappeared.

"Upstairs should be the food hall" Avocato informed as he looked at one of the digital maps displayed around "We'll head there and then look around" 

There was no objections this time, the two clearly hungry as they patiently awaited Avocato to lead the way.   
With a chuckle, Avocato started walking towards the escalators 

"Hey dad" Little Cato tugged his father's shirt

"What?" Avocato asked as he continued walking, noticing the escalators

"Gary's gone" 

Avocato quickly stopped and looked down at Little Cato who was looking around- true to his statement, Gary was no longer standing next to Little Cato.

Avocato's rational mind was quick to overthink, racing with ideas of the human getting hurt all over again. The memory of Gary's blood scent impaled deep into his mind, the look of the other's exhaustion after the blood loss, the fear Avocato felt everytime Gary's eyes rolled back before he fainted, Gary quietly crying and asking him not to lea-

"Avo-cat-oh!!!" A voice dragged Avocato back "Spiderrrr-Cat!!" 

Quickly, the two ventraxians began looking around, running towards the voice that was muffled by the crowd's murmurs. 

There, in all his glory, Gary was stood on a bench, hands cupped around his mouth to shout as one leg gently pushed a guard that was trying to get him to stop shouting.

"Sir- please you can't-"

"Avocato!" 

"Sir stop shouti- ow- stop that!" 

"Little Ca- hey!" 

Little Cato snickered at the scene of Gary trying to balance of one foot while shouting for them. Watching as Avocato entered the picture to give a polite nod to the guard

"Oh! Avocato! There you are!" Gary smiled, glad to see the other- he was honestly beginning to panic in the crowded place "Where did you guys go? One second I'm following you then I'm reaching to hold a strangers han-" 

Gary squeaked as Avocato suddenly grabbed his legs and threw him over his shoulder, leaving the guard awkwardly watching as Gary quickened his legs in embarrassment 

"Avocato?!" He shrieked as Little Cato snickered, a hand over his mouth to hold back the laughter as he followed his dad.

Avocato, may or may have not placed his hand over Gary's butt and it may or may have not been on purpose but even so- he wasnt going to put Gary down until they arrived at the food hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avocato finally getting a reason to touch Gary's bubble butt :')


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mall day continues~

"Come on Gary, I was just trying to keep you from getting lost again" Avocato said, his voice holding laughter behind it and his ears perked up with the satisfaction of what he had done

"Do you know how terrifying it is to ride the stairs of hell upside down?!" Gary's face was still red from embarrassment and the feel of...someone's hand still on his buttcheek

"It was just escalators Gary" Little Cato laughed as he ate the rest of his cheery meal

"Exactly" Gary ate one of his fries as he stared at the distance, almost as if remembering something traumatic 

The trio had been sat down for a while, eating their orders. Gary decided to have something fatty as he hadn't in a while and Little Cato wanted to try the same food, Avocato, however, decided to order something more healthy from another place, meeting his son and Gary at the table later.

Avocato watched the two eat, his eyes drifting to Gary's cheek as he chewed. What was it called again? Ah...yes...rabbit- Gary reminded Avocato a lot of that animal. 

Before Avocato had noticed, he was already reaching over to poke Gary's cheek, leaving the human confused as all he did was mutter "soft" before returning to his own food. 

"Fluffy" Gary copied Avocato's actions, poking his cheek as well before grinning childishly as he returned to his own food. He didn't understand what Avocato was doing but assumed it was a ventraxian thing.

Avocato noticed something, however...he noticed that when it came to Gary he was weak. The moment he felt the man's soft poke on his cheek his ears instantly burned and he felt his stomach do flips (but perhaps that was the food...he wasnt sure) and worst yet- Avocato liked it.

Once they were all done, Little Cato insisted they go check the games stores around which Avocato had no reason to refuse.

"Gary! Do you know what this is?" Little Cato said dramatically as he held the game in one hand while the other wiggled its fingers 

"A...game?" Gary glanced at Avocato to see if he knew though only received a shrug

"Yes! No- Not just any game!" Little Cato grinned, practically shoving the game in Gary's face "this here is an adventure game where you get to complete super cool quests and kill monsters and stuff!" 

"Woah! Thats super tight" Gary had no idea what Little Cato meant but he tried to match his excitement 

"Right?! Then there's this one guy-" the boy pointed to a character on the front "he's my favourite because he's an assassin! He fights with two blades and is all-" Little Cato proceeded to give a cool pose- the kind of cool pose you'd see a man in a corner of a club do as he is too cool for dancing and everyone thinks he's mysterious and cool because he is mysterious and cool.  
"Hmph" Little Cato huffed quietly with a deep voice, flipping his imaginary hair. Gary waited for the rest...

...

"Wait? Hmph? Thats it?" Gary asked, one eyebrow raised in amusement at Little Cato as Avocato only chuckled in amusement 

"Exactly! Because he is that cool!" Little Cato grinned

"Oh my stars...you're right- that does make you cool" Gary gasped 

"How so?" Avocato smiled in amusement.   
Gary didn't answer, instead he crossed his arms and tried to make a cool pose as well, looking at Avocato before 

"Hmph" he turned away slowly 

"I-" Avocato laughed "I still don't see it" 

"Oh come on! It was cool- anyone would've seen it" Gary turned back

"Yeah! So cool!" Little Cato supported "in fact- you do it all the time dad" 

"I do?" Avocato lifted his eyebrows in surprise 

"Yeah! Everyone is like- OooOooh! General Avocato is soooo cool!" Little Cato did a high pitch voice "and then you're all like-" Little Cato pulled yet again his best Avocato expression as he puffed out his chest and placed his hands behind his back "hmph" 

Avocato only blinked, all he has ever heard before was that he was some murderer and master of death- never that he was...well...cool.   
"I am not like that" Avocato mustered though it was drowned out by Gary's laughter

"Spidercat!" Gary said in between laughter, trying to catch his breath "that was on point!" 

Avocato rolled his eyes as both Little Cato and Gary began to giggle, he playfully bumped his elbow on Gary's side before taking the game from his son  
"Guess we're taking this then" he smiled 

"Wait- really?!" Little Cato gasped, his laughter dying quickly "no way! Really dad?!" He bounced as he followed Avocato

"...hmph" was Little Cato's reply which only brought the laughter back.

\------------

"So...what do you guys want for dinner tonight?" Gary asked as he browsed the supermarket 

"You don't have to cook, Gary- I can do it tonight if you want" Avocato offered. He loved Gary's cooking but Gary was a babysitter not his slave 

"Oh..." came the oddly disappointed reply "If thats what you want" Gary quickly recovered with a sad smile. Could it be...? 

"No- no! In saying if you don't wan- I-" Avocato was stumbling over his words again "How about you cook something you want? I'm sure we'll like it as long as its made by you" he spoke honestly and it seemed the flattery worked as Gary was blushing with a soft smile

"Well ok- but if you don't like it you'll still have to eat it" Gary joked, humming as he spun around to grab the ingredients 

"Ofcourse" Avocato smiled as he followed Gary around.

\----------

It had been a while since they had entered the mall. Their chill day turned quite exhausting from all the shops they had browsed and the one time Gary got lost as well the two times Little Cato wandered off by himself.  
Avocato insisted on carrying the bags, it wasn't much anyway. He held Little Cato's hand while Little Cato held Gary's to prevent the other from getting lost or the small one from wondering off- Titans phorbid Little Cato wanders off with Gary and then loses him. 

As they walked outside the sky had already turned purple and the two moons were visible clearer than ever. Music played outside from the one hot-dog stall and people quietly chattered among themselves. 

"Ah- crap" Avocato suddenly stopped as he patted his pocket 

"What? Whats wrong?" Little Cato asked as he looked up at his dad

"My wallet is gone- I'm going to go back and look for it" Avocato let go of Little Cato to continue pat around only to sigh in defeat "you two sit over there near the fountain while you wait" 

"Wouldnt it be better if we came along? We could help" Gary offered with a smile, taking the bags Avocato handed him.  
Avocato paused to think about it only to shake his head  
"No- its alright, I'll be right back" he gave a small nod before he ran off, sure that as soon as he found his wallet Gary would've gotten lost and Little Cato wondered off to find the wallet- it is best they sit still together.

"Come on, Spidercat" Gary sighed as he sat on the bench with the bags at his feet, Little Cato following.  
They both sat down watching the lights around the fountain change to change the water's color, the water shooting from the ground in beat with the music from the hot dog stand.

"This is boring" Little Cato announced after not even a minute

"Yep- boring" Gary agreed 

"Boooooringgg!" Little Cato groaned

"B to the oring" Gary sighed

"Bo-"

"Ring"

"B"

"O"

"Ring!" 

The two started doing random chanting mixed with groans and sighs- both incredibly bored. 

Then, as if the Titans had taken pity on them both, the hot dog stand played a certain song

"Oh!" Gary grinned 

"This is!" Little Cato perked up

"That one song that played when we went to the disco!" 

"And I was running away from dad!" Little Cato matched Gary's wide grin

"And I thought I was going to- kinda but not- really die!" Gary added with a laugh

The two laughed for a second before smiling to eachother  
"You know..." Gary stood "we never really had the chance to dance properly to the song" 

"You mean?" Little Cato gasped 

"Heck yeah Spidercat- this place is our dance floor now"

\------------------------  
"Where....is it?" Avocato groaned, going over the same places he had gone through today

"E-excuse me!" One of the employees of the supermarket called, making Avocato spin around "are you looking for your wallet?" 

"Yes" Avocato replied relieved 

"I took it to the lost and found" they said "it should still be there"

"Thank you" Avocato smiled as he began to speed walk towards there- of course it was at the lost and found, why didn't he check?   
\------------------------

The two danced to the song, the many weird looks they got didn't go unnoticed but they generally didn't care as they made up weird dances and laughed together. 

"Check this one out!" Little Cato grinned, dancing and running up the wall to do a back flip 

"Nice!!" Gary clapped with a huge grin as Little Cato did a small before continuing to dance

"Bet you can't beat that!" Little Cato challenged 

"Bet!" Gary said as he stepped on one of the holes of the fountain, timing the jet perfectly as he danced along the fountain without getting wet "boom! Baby!"

"Woah! OK- challenge accepted" Little Cato grinned, bouncing in place to try dance across the fountain without getting wet.

When Avocato had returned, wallet in his pocket and a relieved smile on his face, he was met with the sight of Gary and Little Cato playing on the water fountain- both wet and laughing as they tried to get eachother wet. 

"Cant leave for a second" Avocato sighed as he shook his head. He looked around to check if any guards had caught them and found that other than the people looking at the two as if they were crazy, there weren't any guards.

"Gotcha TB!" Little Cato laughed as he stepped on the jet of water to redirect it towards Gary who was sparingly good at dodging 

"Augh!" Gary laughed "Im wounded!" 

Avocato uproached the scene, finding himself smile at the two as he watched on the...battle.

"Or am I?" Gary grinned as he stepped on another jet to direct the water to Little Cato "Take this!"

Just as the water was about to hit Little Cato, the boy jumped out of the way, leaving nothing to protect Avocato from the water that shot his face.

Gary gasped, his eyes wide at the sight of Avocato's wet fur and his unamused expression. Little Cato, who was laughing victoriously, turned around, curious as to what got Gary like that, only to wince at the sight of his father.

"Hi...dad..." Little Cato said, part of him wanted to laugh but part of him knew he was in trouble 

"Hello" Avocato said, his expression not changing until two jets shot in front of him and he grinned, stepping on one of them and directing it towards Gary

"Hey!" Gary gasped as he was hit with water on his face. 

Little Cato laughed, poiting at Gary only for his laughter to be interrupted by Avocato changing the jets direction towards him.

"Dad!" Little Cato squealed, trying to shield from the water with his arms

"Spidercat! Ill avenge you!" Gary announced as he used his hands to redirect some jets towards Avocato.

If Gary was good at dodging, Avocato was a master of it. The feline swiftly jumped to the side before using his own hands to direct the jet towards Gary who lost his 'weapon' as the jet he was using disappeared

"No!" Gary giggled trying to run from the water. 

The fountain switched off for a second as the music died down before it began again, one single jet of water in the middle.

"OoooooOooOh" Little Cato stepped back with a small snicker "Thundet Bandit versus Iron Claws! Who will win?!" Little Cato announced the match.

It was a classic cowboy shootout, Gary wiggling his fingers beside his hips while Avocato wiggled his tail to prepare himself

"Ready?" Little Cato grinned widely, letting the tension settle "steady?" He added slowly "Go!" 

With that the two raced towards the jet, it came to the point where some passebys even stopped briefly to watch the winner. 

Though things didn't last.

Gary's confident grin was wiped off his face as Avocato reached the jet first but-

"Aaah!" Avocato shouted in surprise when his boots slipped and didn't allow him to stop

"AAAAH!" Gary screamed louder as Avocato slid towards him who was also unable to stop.

The two crashed together, Avocato with more force which sent Gary to the floor. 

There was silence before Little Cato burst into laughter at the scene. His laughter was loud and it was clear he had no intend of stopping it.

After a few moments Gary began to giggle which slowly built into laughter as well, Avocato joining in soon after as he slowly lifted himself from Gary.

Unlike Gary though, Avocato's laughter died down as he looked down at Gary.   
The human was giggling as he looked up at him with rosy cheeks and a beautiful smile, his hair wet and stuck to his forehead, his eyes were shining from the laughter...he was a cute mess.

As Avocato stared down at Gary, he noticed Gary's own giggles had calmed down into a soft smile as he looked up at Avocato with his piercing blue eyes.

"I guess..." Avocato paused for a second, double thinking his words "I guess you fell for me, huh?" 

It was amusing and pure delightful to watch Gary's smile turn into stammers as his face grew red and he suddenly lost the strength to look Avocato in the eye

"Youre adorable" Avocato laughed, not really thinking about what he said- in fact, he hadn't noticed he had said it.

He stood up and gave out his hand to help the other up. Gary seemed to be in a daze, his cheeks warm as he slowly took the large hand in his own and was dragged up to his feet.  
His heart was beating heavily against his chest at the feeling of the hand on his- the feeling of the other's body on top of him.

"Gary? You alright?" Avocato asked, suddenly worried if Gary didn't like his previous joke

"I-I'm okay" Gary covered his mouth, that was curving into a nervous smile, with the back of his hand. 

The three walked back with their hands linked, this time Little Cato held Gary's hand in between giggles while Gary held Avocato's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmph


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of short chapter because I wanna get to a certain part🏊♂️🏊♂️🏊♂️👙🩲

The scent travelled across their hotel room. Little Cato was playing some shooting games on his phone while Avocato sat patiently reading a book he had found, both ignoring the begging sounds their stomach would make after they had noticed the meal had fish in it.

"Are you done yet?" Little Cato groaned, peeking into the small kitchen for the 8th time in the last 5 minutes

"Almost" Gary chuckled, messing up the kid's hair and setting up the plates on the balcony that devided the room to the kitchen.

Just as promised, not too long after Gary began serving the food that was in the big pan, laughing quietly as he noticed Little Cato had already made himself comfortable on his seat

"What is it?" Avocato asked as he sniffed the air, making his way towards Gary "smells good" he smiled

"Seafood rice" Gary grinned proudly, placing his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest "I thought since you guys are cat- err...feline like creatures-"

"Ventraxians" Avocato corrected with a sigh

"Ven-taxes-rianos" Gary booped Avocato, purposely saying the name wrong "I thought you guys enjoyed fish...and other stuff like that! You know....like cats" 

"We aren't cats" Avocato sighed yet again, taking the food filled plate from Gary with a short and quiet "thank you" 

"Sure you aren't Mr.Whiskers" Gary laughed as he heard Avocato's stomach rumble 

Ever since Gary had noticed the other wouldn't judge him over his mental disorder or pretty much any of his weird behaviours, he has been more open around Avocato- teasing him and making harmless jokes to distract him from the very obvious fluttering that had began in his chest.

"Nope!" He said to himself as soon as he he had noticed what the feeling was, getting weird looks from both Avocato and Little Cato on their way home.

Gary chuckled as he sat down besides Little Cato, watching Avocato still grumble to himself on how he wasnt a cat while Little Cato began eating like there was no tomorrow

"Tis' Good!" The kit beamed brightly with his mouth full. Avocato would've lectured him if he wasn't so hungry.

"I'm glad you like it" Gary pat the boy before beginning eating himself while taking occasional glances at the quiet general.   
Despite Avocato not saying anything, Gary still noticed the way his tail swayed contently and the ears perked up just the same way Little Cato's did. 

"Whats wrong, son?" Avocato asked Little Cato who was standing in front of the two beds in deep thought while Gary was showering 

"Trying to decide who I should sleep with tonight...you or Gary" the smaller one replied with a hum. Little Cato was stuck on whenever to spend more time with his dad or sleep with Gary who basically was a cuddle machine.

"Why not both?" Avocato wanted to ask but he knew he couldn't put Gary in any awkward situations

The moment the blond stepped out of the steamy bathroom, Little Cato had made up his mind

"Gary!" The kit cheered as he ran towards the human, hugging his waist and nuzzling into his body warmth

"Woah!" Gary laughed, hugging Little Cato with one arm while the other held his jeans "What's up little man?" 

"He was deciding who he'd like to sleep with" Avocato smiled at the two as he stepped closer 

"Why not both?" Gary was going to suggest only to remember the fact that he had just developed feeling for his boss who is also a general and who he was going to suggest sleeping with- 

"Im so sorry Avocato" Gary said dramatically "but I guess I'm just his favourite" he shrugged as he leaned down to pick Little Cato up 

"You wish" Avocato laughed "he was just hugging you goodbye-"

"No, I picked Gary" Little Cato interrupted with a snicker "dont worry- tomorrow I'll pick you dad"

"Or will he?" Gary added with a laugh as he headed off to bed with Little Cato

"You two suck" Avocato said playfully, messing Gary's damp hair with his hand before he entered the bathroom to wash himself, unaware of the effect the simple head pat had left on Gary.

\--------------------

"Sara Bilia" he repeated the name to himself as he held onto the joystick of the ship.  
It had been a while he was flying the ship, saving the fuel for the moment he needed to get away.

His plan was simple- get hold of the young Ventraxian and threaten his life so Gary comes to him instead, like that...he will make sure the primate doesn't survive. 

Mantis didn't know why his boss hated this Gary Goodspeed so much, he assumed the hatred was more directed towards the human's father as his request was to "kill John Goodspeed's son". He was the one who had to do it as his boss trusted him to do so, if he couldn't then...well his boss would have to kill the man instead.

Mantis didn't care for their relationship he cared for his own with the boss now. His trust was being held by a single thread from the amount of times he had failed to kill the young Goodspeed- his good relationship with his boss was ruined and he was willing to fix it.

"I was so close" he muttered to himself with disappointment, recalling how his boss had finally started warming up to him. 

Why did he care for their relationship?

The answer was simple

He simply liked her and wanted her in his bed.   
Mantis wanted to have his own boss wrapped around his finger, dancing on the palm of his hand- and he thought he had it too...that was until he became aware that his boss wasn't anywhere near all the other women he had slept with before which only fueled his desire more.

He must have her under him, beneath his feet begging...and he will.

Mantis will kill Gary Goodspeed and bring his head to her if he has to and no...he will not think about the fact that they share similar features and the same last name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didnt want to reveal the villain yet but OH WELL
> 
> Sorry for short chapter~


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second day of their little vacation~  
> Another short chapter so I can start writing 🏊🩲👙🏊

He wasnt used to it to say the truth. He wasn't used to sleeping early or waking up late so instead he sat back and read a book until he felt tired enough to sleep.  
However, Avocato didn't remember when he began watching the other two sleep, all he knew was that seeing them look so peaceful was helping him get sleepier by the second.

Laying on his side with his fist propping up his cheek, he quietly watched the rise and falls of Little Cato's and Gary's chest with a soft smile, chuckling quietly everytime Little Cato would accidently walk Gary's face and Gary would scrunch up his little nose.

Avocato didn't remember when he had fallen asleep either, all he knew was that he woke up to the smell of something delicious and Little Cato now asleep besides him. He couldn't help but smile down at his son that slept with his belly up with tiny little snores.

"Morning" a quiet whisper seemed to grab hold of his heart.  
He turned to see Gary making his way out the bathroom to the kitchen in front of him with a soft smile, his hair messy and sleep still rubbing itself in his eyes.

"Mornin'" Avocato managed to mumble as Gary seemed to continue to cook whatever he was before with the same dance he usually did.

At that moment Avocato realised how dangerous this was- the peaceful mornings and how right it felt to waking up with his son and Gary's dancing. He realised that not having Gary was simply not an option. 

Oh...wow...  
Avocato's deep morning voice was quite breath taking if Gary had to admit it, not to mention seeing the all mighty general with his fur all messy was quite a sight to see. 

Gary was just setting up their breakfast on the balcony, stealing glances at Avocato only to find the other looking directly at him. He smiled everytime their eyes met, unsure if he was being weird or awkward. 

"Little Cato" Gary whispered softly as he shook the boy only to receive some mumbling as the kit turned to hide his face on his father side

Both adults shared a short chuckle before Gary leaned down to place a kiss on the boy's head, the same way his father would wake him when he was just a boy.  
That seemed to do the trick as Little Cato turned over muttering Gary's name quietly with his small hands reaching up. Gary leaned down slowly, allowing Little Cato to wrap his arms around his neck before he picked him up. 

Avocato held his breath at the sight of how natural it all seemed. Gary kissing his son with such adoring eyes made him happier than he would've expected.

Quietly, Avocato got up as well, heading for the bathroom instead to get himself ready as he usually did before breakfast.  
When he had returned, his fur tidy and brushed, he was met with Little Cato fully awake rambling to Gary about some crazy dream he had as both sat on the bed 

"Morning dad!" Little Cato greeted with a huge grin 

"Good morning" Avocato answered with a smile, leaning down to place a short kiss on his head "thanks for the breakfast" he smiled at Gary

"No need to thank me" Gary returned the smile, watching Avocato sit by the balcony and begin to eat

"Ooh! Oh!" Little Cato chirped as he began bouncing in place "what are we going to do today?"

"I don't know" Avocato answered "what do you want to do?" He smiled as Little Cato gasped.  
The boy did not answer, thinking that if he suggested something it would be set in stone and he couldn't change it. He needed to think carefully...

Gary laughed at how serious Little Cato had become, placing a finger where the kit's eyebrows furrowed in thought.  
During Little Cato's thinking session, the TV flashed an ad for some water slides park- that, to Little Cato, was a sign

"Water slides!" He beamed, taking Gary's hand away from his face "Let's go to the water slides park!"

"I don't see why not" Avocato answered, long finished with his breakfast and washing his own plate

"Yes!" Little Cato cheered "let's go let's go let's go!" The boy began to rush to get his swim trunks and a change of clothes, rushing in the bathroom before coming out in less than a minute fully ready

"Woah!" Gary laughed, grabbing his own change of clothes "that was fast" 

"There's no rush" Avocato chuckled

"You guys are too slow! Hurry up!" Little Cato whined, pulling on Avocato's tail to direct him to the bathroom so he could get changed already

"Alright, alright" the vetraxian laughed, quickly grabbing his swimming trunks before his son pushed him in. 

While Avocato was in the bathroom, Gary had changed his shirt already and began packing some snacks for them

"You can go now" Avocato let him know as he left the bathroom now fully changed. 

"Ah-" Gary looked up with the smallest of blushes present, Avocato was wearing a tank top and his calves were fully visible "alright, thanks" he smiled as he headed in.

Gary quickly got changed into his new swimwear and gasped in delight, it was perfect! It didn't seem to rub against his inner thighs and the shorts were comfortable. 

He gave a small jump to try see himself in the mirror to double check if it looked alright- in his opinion it did.

"Heh" he giggled quietly as he placed both his hands on his burning cheek- Avocato had chosen the color, saying that blue suited him. Maybe he should wear more blue? 

"Hurry up Gary!" Little Cato whines from outside 

"A-almost done!" Gary called back, quickly grabbing his jean shorts to put over before walking out "sorry- I'm ready!" 

"Let's go!" Little Cato grabbed his hand and began to drag him out while Avocato grabbed the bag he finished packing and followed 

"We'll have to take a cab" Avocato closed the door as he shrugged the bag on his shoulder 

"How far is it?" Gary asked as he held Little Cato's hand and followed Avocato

"At least 15 minutes away" Avocato answered

"That's too faaaaar" Little Cato whined again 

"I mean..." Avocato chuckled "we can always not go" 

"No! We're going!" 

The trio walked outside to the many taxi drivers across the road. Little Cato and Gary watched, allowing Avocato to do all the talking before waving them over to one of the cars.

"Slide and Splash, right?" The alien driver asked as he looked at Avocato on the passenger's seat while Gary and Little Cato sat behind 

"Yes, thank you" Avocato confirmed politely, glancing back to see Gary put the seatbelt on Little Cato who was already excitedly looking out the window

"Got it" the driver nodded and started the car, beginning to drive.

During the drive, Avocato kept looking at the mirror to check on the two, finding himself smile at the sight of Gary looking out the window just as excited as Little Cato.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw- I don't mean to write Avocato as a pervert or anything, I know I write him checking Gary out too much  
> Avocato has never necessarily fallen in love or let those feeling develop so I am writing him as if he was a teenager who can't control his hormones or understand them-


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🩲

How long had it been? The sun the breeze, bugs and flowers...how long had it been since Gary saw any of that? 

Stepping out of the taxi while Avocato payed for the ride, Gary took a deep breath. He missed it...

"Alright, you two ready to go in?" Avocato asked, laughing quietly at Little Cato who wordlessly stared wide eyed at one of the tall slides, the screams and laughter drawing him in

"I think that's a yes" Gary stood besides him with a smile, looking at Little Cato as well. 

When the trio had gotten their tickets for the day and made their way inside, Little Cato was still taking it all in.  
A water park...with his dad and babysitter who is his friend but also considers him family (or so he said)...

This had to be a dream-

"Little Cato" Gary pat the boy who seemed to be vibrating with energy "As your babysitter I have no choice but to go on every slide, ride, pool with you" 

"You know you can just go where you want, Gary" Avocato chuckled as he set down their towels on the grass "you don't have to use babysitting as an excuse"

"Oh-" Gary scratched the back of his head, little embarrassed "I still want to hang out with Little Cato though, he is super mega cool- ain't that right?" Gary asked Little Cato only to find the boy had disappeared.

Avocato laughed as he watched Gary slowly go into panic before gesturing behind him to reveal Little Cato had already jumped in the pool, his shirt discarded on the floor.

"Damn" Gary laughed as he picked up the shirt "he's fast"

When Gary had turned back around to walk back to the towels and Avocato, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Things seemed to go in slow motion for the man as he watched Avocato remove his shirt and - oh boy...The ventraxiam was covered in fur yet Gary could easily see the his muscles through it all...his weakness...

He forced himself to look away before the other noticed him staring, not wanting to come off as a creep and began to make his way back as he focused on folding Little Cato's shirt instead. 

"Right" Avocato smiled once he saw Gary "how do the shorts fit?" 

"Hm?" The human finally looked up "oh! They fit great!" He smiled, glad he had something to distract himself from Avocato's broad chest- and omg Avocato has a heart shape tuft on his chest, that's the most adorable thing Gary has ever seen-

"Eyes up here" he heard the other say and instantly looked up at Avocato's amused face

"Sorry!" Gary's voice cracked as his face turned red "Heart! Shape! Cute! Sorry!" He looked away as he stammered 

"Ah...It's a little embarrassing if I must admit" Avocato tried not to chuckle "As a general this isn't exactly...ideal" 

"Why?" The other finally turned to look back at Avocato, setting Little Cato's shirt down 

"It's a heart- and hearts are...well...like you said, cute?" Avocato answered with uncertainty

"Yeah, it is cute" Gary admitted calmly now

Avocato's ears perked up at Gary's words and he felt butterflies in his stomach. He discretely covered his mouth to hide his smile and embarrassment. 

"Gary!" Little Cato called from the pool, waving at the blond "come on! The water is warm!" 

"Oh!" Gary turned to the kit and waved back "On my way, Spidercat!" He shouted back, watching the kid dive back under the water and swim away.

Avocato smiled at the two from behind Gary, enjoying this rare peaceful day. He watched as Gary bend down and- oh.

OH

Gary carefully removed his jeans shorts to reveal his swimming trunks. They were...well...snug on Gary's behind- Avocato found out that he simply couldn't look away.

Were shorts supposed to be like that? Does Gary know what they look like from where Avocato is? 

Swallowing hard, Avocato took a deep breath and closed his eyes to try calm his burning cheeks- 

"Gary" he said calmly, watching as the human span around with a small hum and a clueless expression. As soon as they made eye contact all of Avocato's words died down.

What was he going to say anyway? Was he going to point out how tight the swimming trunks looked? How it made his ass look...well...Good? Make the human uncomfortable by poiting it out? 

"I- uh..." Avocato forced himself to say anything to Gary "it looks nice on you...the ...the shorts" he went with a compliment that should've felt normal as everyone has complimented someone before- if it weren't for Avocato avoiding eye contact 

The ventraxian only turned back when there was silence, watching Gary process those words as his cheeks slowly turned adorably pink

"Oh!" He finally replied "thank you" Gary smiled shyly as he fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt 

They shared some awkward silence of both looking away and accidentally making eye contact- Avocato had no idea what to do 

"Gary!" Little Cato stomped his way over as he puffed out his cheeks 

"Little Cato!" Gary jumped in surprise while Avocato sighed in relief for something interrupting whatever was happening moments ago

"You said you'd come! Come on!" The small kit started pulling Gary's hand "You're going to waste all day standing there!" 

"I'm going- I'm going" Gary laughed as Little Cato let go of him to allow him to remove his shirt. Gary reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up slowly 

"Gary!" Little Cato groaned knowing he was doing on purpose

Avocato wasn't sure if he hated it our loved it.

However, Gary suddenly pulled his shirt back down and held his arms close to his sides anxiously

"Actually...I think I'm going to stay here...on the towels" Gary forced a smile 

"What? Why?" The boy asked as he watched Gary sit down 

"Oh you know...just- just tired" Gary lied "don't worry, I'll join you later...probably" 

Little Cato frowned but nodded, sadly making his way back into the pool. Suddenly the idea of the water park was less cool.

Avocato lifted a brow but remained quiet as he watched Little Cato leave before sitting down besides Gary 

"What's up?" He asked "last time I checked, you wanted to go to the slides as much as Little Cato" 

"No...I'm ok" Gary hugged his knees closer as he picked on the grass "Don't feel like it- all good"

"Sure" Avocato replied sarcastically "seriously, whats wrong?" He sat closer and leaned in to try get a proper look at Gary's expression, finding that his eyelashes were quite long

"Just... No- It's dumb" Gary chuckled nervously, focusing on pulling out the grass

"Go on...you can tell me" Avocato said softly.

The two were quiet but Avocato knew that Gary was trying to figure out how to explain himself- or at least building up the courage to.

"I- you see-" he tried only to groan in futration and hide his face on his knees "sorry" 

"Its ok...take your time" Avocato pat Gary how he would usually with his son and smiled as he watched the other relax

"My body...isn't exactly...." Gary trailed off, his voice mumbled by his knees "It isnt exactly the prettiest thing to look at" he finally said "especially after...you know."

Avocato frowned at Gary's words, understanding that he was referring to the day Mantis attacked him  
"I thought the scar was supposed to be 'sick'" Avocato referred to Gary's words "personally I think it is...not that it was cool you were hurt but...Sorry..." Avocato frowned slightly, realizing that he sucked at cheering people up

"Thanks Avocato" Gary smiled sadly up at Avocato "but don't worry, I'll be fine here" he turned back to the grass and Avocato felt the sadness in Gary's eyes pull at his heart strings

"While I was taking care of your wound..." Avocato started and he brushed Gary's hair back, allowing his hand to travel down and rest on the middle of his back "I thought you had a very good physique-" he said honestly "like some human model or something...and no I'm not saying this just to try cheer you up" he inched closer " I still believe that you have a very good body, Gary- you look healthy so I can't really understand what you're so insecure about"

The other didn't answer and Avocato ears dropped in sympathy for him. Why did Gary feel as if his body wasn't "the prettiest to look at"? Avocato knew for a fact that he could stare at Gary all day long and not get sick of the sight- still feel the warmth in his chest.

"I think you're beautiful" Avocato said earnestly and quietly 

The laughter of the children around, the screaming from the slides, the gentle breeze...it all seemed to be quiet for those simple words that were spoken so softly and full of sincerity.  
Gary's lip wobbled as he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying- he felt dumb for words almost bringing him to tears but incredibly happy that Avocato thought that of him.

Slowly he rested his head against Avocato's shoulder 

"Thank you, Avocato" he said quietly as he instinctively began to fidget with the fabric of Avocato's shorts.

Suddenly he didn't really care what others thought of him...what mattered was what Avocato thought of him...

And Avocato thought he was beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avocato: You are so beautiful to meeEeEe


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter- sorry!
> 
> "youre the coolest kid I know- you are my VIF"

Avocato had allowed Gary to sit and calm himself, he hadn't been sure what effect his words would have on him and had believed he may have come off as weird but Gary seemed to apriciate his honesty and Avocato was happy he had managed to help. 

"Little Cato" he called from the edge of the pool, watching his son pathetically kick his legs as he held onto the wall of the pool 

"Hey dad" the kit said, out of everyone in the whole park he looked like the only one who wasn't having fun, even the kid that dropped her ice cream and was crying now seemed to be having more fun-

Wait...Ice cream...  
Kids like ice cream.

"Come on, let's get some ice cream" Avocato smiled down at his son. The idea of ice cream seemed to be of interest to the boy who swam slowly to the ladder and climbed out

"Okay..." he mumbled as he reached for his father's tail.

Avocato made no effort to pull away, instead bringing his son closer to his side as he made his way to one of the cafés 

"What flavour do you think Gary likes?" He asked 

"Strawberry probably...I saw him ordering that popsicle last time" Little Cato answered as pointed at one of the options. Avocato made his order, asking for a simple lime water with ice for himself.

"Can I get this one?" Little Cato asked as he looked up at his father while pointed at one of the popsicles that looked like a character from a cartoon he watched

"Sure" Avocato nodded, handing Little Cato the popsicle when he payed for it.

When the two had returned, Little Cato having cheered up a bit, they found Gary layed down on one of the towels on his belly, shirt sliding up enough to let Avocato check Gary's ass out

"Nice view" Avocato commented, indicating to Gary 

"Hmm?" Gary looked up and smiled at the two "yeah I guess it is pretty nice, all the families together- wait were you talking about ladies? Because I totally missed th-"

"No" Avocato laughed as he sat down and handed Gary the red popsicle "I wasn't talking about any ladies" 

"Ah..." Gary took the treat and sat up "thanks" he smiled and opened up the packet as Little Cato quietly sat in-between the two

"Hey, Gary?" The kit asked shyly, ears dropping down slightly when Gary gave him his attention for the boy to continue "are you...are you mad at me?" 

"What? No- of course not, why would you think that?" Gary spoke softly, shuffling closer to the kit 

"I dunno...you didn't want to hang out with me?" Little Cato shrugged, looking down at his popsicle

"Little Cato, I love hanging out with you! I was just...nervous because there's a lot of people here" Gary told part of the truth "Augh! I'm sorry I made you feel like that!" He pulled the kit closer with his arm in a side hug, making sure to avoid getting sticky hands from the melting popsicle on his fur

"Really?" Little Cato looked up with a small smile 

"Really really" Gary smiled "youre the coolest kid I know- you are my VIF" Gary grinned 

"Yeah.." Little Cato laughed "Very important friend" he finally smiled brightly, recalling the memory

"Nope! Even better" Gary chirped "Very important family" 

Little Cato's eyes widened at the words and Avocato seemed to fully turn his head to look at Gary

"Oh- I'm sorry was that weird? If you don't like it- you know what, I'm sorry- I take it ba-" Gary rambles were interrupted by Little Cato's small arms around him

"That sounds super tight actually" Little Cato mumbled into Gary's shirt, tail swaying happily

"Yeah?" Gary smiled, pulling the kid closer with one hand while the other held the popsicle, not minding the cold feeling of Little Cato's ice cream melting onto his shirt "Vif it is" 

"Vif" Little Cato repeated, pulling away with a smile as he held out the popsicle. Gary understood the gesture and bumped his popsicle gently against Little Cato's as if they were drink before both licked the treat away

Avocato had watched the exchange and found that there was certainly no way he could love Gary any more than he does now. The man seemed to treat his child as his own and that made his heart flutter stronger than ever before.

They returned to quietly watching the nearby pool as they ate their treats but Avocato found his eyes wondering to Gary to often. As much as he hated to admit it, Avocato was a little curious to see Gary lick the popsicl- 

And he bit it

Gary freaking bit the popsicle.

Who bites popsicles? Who bites literal ice? 

Apparently Gary does.

Avocato felt his fantasies that had barely being built into pieces with the ice, feeling a shiver down his spine.  
Gary was a man to be feared....no one bites ice like that.

"You done Spidercat?" Gary asked as he stood up and handed Little Cato some water to make sure the boy hydrated himself 

"Yeah" the boy took the bottle and chugged half of it 

"Then let's go! We can't sit around all day- we must go to the slides!" 

"But I thought you-" 

"No butt's! Only slides!" Gary interrupted and this time took his shirt off quickly "lets go!" He fist bumped the sky

"Lets go!" Little Cato cheered, copying his actions

Avocato stared at Gary, his beautiful pale skin seemed to reflect the sun but his smiled seemed to beat it's radiance 

"Dad" Little Cato whispered, still holding the same pose as Gary

"Hm?" Avocato hummed, still staring at Gary

"Dad! Do the pose!" Little Cato stomped to get his attention 

"What? I'm not-" 

"Yes you are Avocato- do the pose!" Gary ordered.

Siging, Avocato slowly stood up and lazily fist bumped the air, his ears going slightly red with embarrassment 

"Say it" Gary whispered

"Lets go..." Avocato sighed 

"Dad!" 

"Let's go!" He said with a little more excitement 

"Yeah!" The two cheered taking each other's sticky hands and rushing off to the slides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting for the opportunity to bring VIF back with a different meaning~


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally a decent amount of writing?
> 
> Some quality family time together
> 
> Slides!!
> 
> Asking for a date?👁👁
> 
> General😳

How did they do it? Avocato didn't know...

Both Gary and Little Cato were running place to place to try the different rides, first they started small with the water slides- small children's slides that is.  
When Gary had said they were going on every single slide he had meant it.

Worst yet, Avocato wasn't allowed to skip any of the slides which meant he had gone on at least 3 children's slides where others were both watching as well judging him. Apparently the image of a grumpy Avocato sliding down a baby's slide was the most hilarious thing to the two because Gary had begged to go get a camera inbetween his fit of giggles.

Despite the embarrassment...it was nice- seeing Gary's rosy cheeks as he laughed and held onto his stomach or tried to cover his mouth to hide his smile so at least Avocato keep some of his pride. 

Thankfully, they had finally moved on from the boring small slides and now were headed towards the ones with loud screeches and laughter.  
There were lines, obviously, but things weren't like they were centuries ago where you had to wait long- it was a 5 minute wait at best. 

"Woah!" Little Cato gasped as he climbed the top of the last stairs, looking over how high up they were "this is gonna be awesome!" He turned to both adults all giddy

"Heck yeah!" Gary replied just as giddy before a "next" interrupted them

"Oh! Me first!" Little Cato rushed foward and sat down, turning back to look at Gary and giving a small nod with the best serious face he could muster-  
"See you on the other side" 

"See you on the other side" Gary replied just as dramatically with a small salute that Avocato was kind enough to join in.

Grinning at the sight of both Gary's and Avocato's salute, Little Cato gave a small "hup" before he began laughing as he slid down.

Gary looked over the edge of the rails to watch Little Cato slide towards the pool, giving a small chuckle as the kit shook himself in attempt to dry

"Next" 

"Hell yeah!" Gary grinned and walked forth, making himself comfortable before turning back to Avocato. He wanted to say something clever but words didn't exist after seeing how fondly Avocato smiled at him

"See you on the other side?" The ventraxian asked

"O-other side" Gary nodded, trying to compose himself. He decided to just slide down to avoid anymore embarrassment.

Just like Gary had done, Avocato watched Gary fall in the pool and swim up to the stairs where Little Cato waited.

"Next" the AI that took over this slide called yet again and Avocato took a seat on the slide, not wasting any time to slide down and get to the others.

Perhaps...this was a little fun. 

"Oh! Here he comes!" Little Cato grinned and turned to the slide, Gary following his gaze.

Somehow, no matter what, Avocato always managed to land into the pool perfectly. There was no coughing or choking on water, just a nice graceful dip before he lifted his head out the water

"Oh come on!" Little Cato groaned yet again while Gary just laughed "how come water always goes up my nose and not yours?"

"I have mastered the no water up my nose art" Avocato chuckled as he messed with the boy's hair 

"Your dad is amazing like that" Gary nodded, having noticed Avocato's tail begin to sway happily at the compliment- score! 

"So what next?" Avocato cleared his throat in attempt to hide his small smile

"We're going to that one over there!" Little Cato pointed "its a family type of slide" he grinned widely and took both their hands to drag them along.

Just as Little Cato had said, the slide were designed for more than one person to go down through, being much wider and needing floaties with seats on.  
As they climbed the stairs, Little Cato did not let go of their hands as he excitedly bounced on the spot with a huge smile. Avocato found the smile to be contagious because when he looked at Gary, the man was smiling just as wide.

"Oh wow" Gary let go of Little Cato to look down "you'd think they'd make it less scary for the kids" he chuckled 

"Afraid?" Avocato teased 

"Maybe a wittwe" Gary pretended to be nervous, earning a snicker from Little Cato "but I wouldn't be if I had someone to pwotect me" he batted his lashes at Avocato. It was a bold move but Gary made it look like a joke as much as possible.

Just as Avocato opened his mouth to try say something clever back, a young woman in front of them seemed to tap Gary on the shoulder.

"E-excuse me" she said nervously, her one eye looking back at what looked like her female friends encouraging her

"Oh- Hi, what's up?" Gary smiled up at her, taking a step up so he was closer and at her eye level.  
The proximity seemed to make the girl more nervous as she began to stammer and her cheeks turned into a deep purple.

Avocato wasn't enjoying were this was going...

"H-huuh..." the girl glanced back at her friends before turning back to Gary "I-I saw you earlier today and I think you're really cool and was wondering i-if you'd like to...h-hang out?" 

Gary blinked in surprise- well...this was new. He smiled politely at her, ready to answer before something clicked

"Wait...hang out as in...?" 

"As in a-a date" she answered nervously 

Oh.

So this wasn't friendship...  
Then this wasn't new at all- and here Gary thought someone was actually trying to be friends with him for once 

"I'm sorry" Gary answered with a guilty smile "I'm uuh...not interested i-in...uuh.." Gary glanced back at Avocato, wondering if the other wouldn't like him anymore if he confessed he was gay.

"N-no! That's ok! Bye!" The girl quickly cut in and rushed away, grabbing a floatie quickly and pushing her friends that glared daggers at Gary into it

"Psh- humans, racist pricks" Gary managed to catch one of them saying just before they slid down.

"Wait! I'm not racist! I'm just gay!!" Gary shouted after them feeling a growing pit in his stomach of guilt that was interrupted by embarrassment when he realized what he had said.  
Slowly, Gary turned around to see not only Little Cato and Avocato looking at him but the rest of the line as well.

That's it.  
Gary is going to jump and end his embarrassment right now- nothing could be worse than this. 

Avocato, who had been glaring at the random woman that tried to steal Gary away, was quick to notice the human freeze up at the sudden attention.  
Quickly, he pushed Little Cato foward and grabbed a floatie as well, placing it down and grabbing Gary.

"Wh-what- Avocato?" Gary stammered, noticing the AI had yet to announce their turn.  
Avocato didn't listen, sitting Gary in the middle seat and Little Cato in front, the kid didn't look to bothered about the situation- in fact, he didn't understand why Gary was so nervous.

"A-arent you mad? At me?" Gary asked when Avocato was finally sitting down behind him

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Avocato asked with a quite obvious smile "Gary, you know humans are pretty much one of the only species that are homophobic, right?" 

"W-what? They are?" Gary asked, turning back to Avocato

"Yep- others have strict religions on their home planets - but humans seem to be the only ones that hate for the sake of it" Avocato answered

"T-then..."

"I'm not mad" Avocato smiled, as he wrapped his arms around Gary's waist, pulling him closer "in fact I'm quite relieved" he grinned widely, pushing the floatie before Gary could make any more questions.

With a yelp, Gary held closer to Little Cato while Avocato laughed at Gary's screams, finding that he quite enjoyed the feeling of his fur against Gary's bare skin.

"Oh my stars!" Gary breathed, leaning back against Avocato once they fell in the pool "d-don't do that again" Gary laughed 

"No promises" Avocato grinned

"You were screaming so loudly!" Little Cato laughed before attempting to copy Gary's screams

"No I wasn't!" Gary laughed along with Avocato, glancing back when Avocato climbed of the floatie.  
"Thanks..." Gary smiled softly at Avocato, he hadn't exactly ever told anyone before about his security and it was quite nerve wracking to have that many people hear it, he was glad Avocato was there. The two smiled fondly at eachother before Avocato's smile turned into a grin

"Dad..." Little Cato warned but it was futile as Avocato flipped the flotied, making the other two fall in the pool

"Avocato!" Gary coughed "we were having a moment!" He shouted but couldn't take it seriously as he began to laugh with Avocato and Little Cato.

"Ok! Where to next!" Little Cato climbed on his father's back 

"I was thinking maybe a tiny break from the slides" Gary sighed with a smile, climbing out of the pool and watching Avocato climb out just as easily with Little Cato on his shoulders

"Ok, old man" Little Cato snickered 

"Hey! I'm not old!" Gary pouted, playfully pulling Little Cato's tail.

They had agreed to going back to the pool near their towels, where Little Cato was showing off Gary his swimming skills.

"So like- I didn't really like swimming when I was younger but-" he ducked under the water and appeared behind Gary where it was a bit deeper and he had to hop to keep his head above the surface "but dad always insisted because it's 'required for survival'" 

Gary chuckled as he listened to Little Cato, pulling the kid closer to him to avoid him from drowning

"And then once dad said I was ready to swim without the flotie thingies on my arms" the boy continued, looking Gary to pick him up "but I didnt think I was and you know what he did?" 

"What did he do" Gary asked, smiling fondly at the kid and just enjoying the excitement behind his voice

"He threw me in the water! No warning and no floating things to save me!" Little Cato said with betrayal in his voice

"And what happened next? You swam- because you were ready and was just being a baby about it" Avocato added in, his arms crossed in amusement

"Avocato! How could you do that?" Gary gasped with a small chuckle 

"You want to have a go?" Avocato asked, lifting his brow in warning

"You wouldn't" Gary squinted

And just like that Avocato had began chasing Gary, Little Cato watching the scene from where he could touch the bottom of the pool.

"Go Gary!" Little Cato called with a laugh, he wanted to see his dad win, of course, but despite Gary being incredibly fast on land he was super slow in water- so he rooted for him.

The only advantage Gary had was the strangers around them that he used as decoys but alas, Avocato finally caught up to him.

"Ack-" Gary's foot was suddenly pulled and how he was underwater. As he felt arms around his waist, Gary quickly opened his eyes despite the burning, to see a blurry Avocato in front of him that was clearly grinning.

When Avocato finally pulled them both up, they gasped for air. Avocato's shoulders were above the water as he held Gary up so he could breathe better, laughing as Gary tried to muster his best annoyed expression through his red cheeks. 

"Caught you" Avocato smirked as he brought Gary down, closer to his eye level, enjoying the way the other began to get nervous "now... Time to throw you" he grinned

"Avocato-" Gary warned but Avocato was already looking for a ladder "Avocato!" Gary squirmed as the other climbed out, still holding onto him. Avocato flipped Gary over his shoulder just as he had done at the mall and began walking towards the deepest part of the pool, enjoying Gary calling out his name in a fit of giggles 

"Avocato! No!" Gary squealed as he was brought down to be held bridal style. Avocato took a second to look over Gary's smile, the way his eyes wrinkled or he scrunched up his nose, he found that the sound of his laughter was much more satisfying than music. 

Avocato grinned widely as he swang back and prepared to throw Gary, creating enough momentum to do so- but, at the very last moment he let go of Gary, the human held tightly onto Avocato resulting in both of them falling in the water.

When the two popped up from the water they looked at each other before breaking into laughter, Gary swimming up to Avocato, a mischievous smirk on his lips as he slowly wrapped his arms around the other's neck.  
Avocato blinked in surprise and choked on his laughter, his heartbeat was quick to give put at the feeling of Gary's barechest against his and he wondered if Gary had noticed it. 

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me, general" Gary said in a low voice before pulling the other down just as he said, interrupting Avocato's stammers.

Avocato found out that being called by general was quite a....turn on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh they're all so gay😔😔
> 
> Edit: Forgot to mention that they are now at their teasing stage👁👁


End file.
